Italians Do It Better
by ToryTigress92
Summary: New Moon AU. Bella must make a deal with the Devil to save Edward and Alice. It's a choice that will affect not only her life but everyones' around her, including the powerful Volturi Leader, Aro.
1. Bella: The Beginning

Italians Do It Better

* * *

I stared at the man-vampire- in front of me, suppressing a telltale shiver from escaping down my spine. He was classical, yet dangerous beauty personified, with long burnished black hair restrained by a clip, stark patriarchal planes for a face and body, and mesmerising red eyes.

Aro, leader of the Volturi.

From the moment our eyes met, there was a panicked voice within yelling at me to run, and keep running, just to escape those haunting eyes, like iridescent rubies, deadly and powerful. My attention was riveted on them, unaware of Edward standing close to me, still swathed in the red cloak of the Volterra revellers, or of Alice watching the three vampires in front of us, simultaneously keeping an eye on the Volturi guard standing behind us. I swear I could feel Jane's eyes on me, as if she wanted to pierce my skin with her eyes. But I couldn't tear myself away from Aro.

He was everything.

His hands were pressed, palm to palm, together as if in prayer under his chin, staring at us, an air of diffident puzzlement about him. "What will we do with you now?" he asked me directly, his eyes riveted on mine. I struggled not to look away, staring him down. Or trying to; I was never going to win a staring contest with a vampire.

Clearly his fellow Volturi were tired of his games.

"You already know what you're going to do, Aro," Marcus sighed from his throne, his apathetic gaze steady on his brother. The blonde, haughty Caius spoke.

"She knows too much. She's a liability," he said, with a bored smirk in his drawling voice.

"That's true…." Aro paused, sighing heavily. As if he needed it. I shivered, as Edward tensed beside me, frowning darkly at the Volturi leader. This was not good. Aro cocked his head to the side, still watching me through those predatory eyes intently. A tense silence spiralled in the chamber stretching my nerves like chewing gum. I actually jumped when Aro finally broke it. "Felix."

* * *

As those two syllables reverberated around the room, the world spun. As I turned around at the bestial snarls coming from behind me, Edward swung me behind him, and lunged at Felix, taking him down to the floor. Alice started forward, but Demetri caught her by the throat, holding her easily. A moment later Edward grunted in pain as he was slammed into the marble floor by Felix, and Jane stepped forward, smiling beatifically, so angelic it was actually repulsive.

"This might hurt just a little bit," she said in her singsong voice, innocent and heavenly, just before Edward began to writhe in pain on the floor, fighting back the screams. My own was torn involuntarily from my throat as horror filled me.

"No, please! NO! Please!" I rounded on Aro, begging him to release Edward. I moved closer, and saw the female vampire standing close to him gasp, as Aro's eyes narrowed in speculation. Even Caius looked surprised.

I moved closer to Aro, pleading with every ounce of my being, putting it into my eyes. "Please stop this. Please, I'll do anything, just stop this,"

Aro smiled lazily and held up his hand, at which I heard Edward's grunts of pain stop, with a sigh of relief. My eyes were still fixed on Aro's, my breath shallow and quick.

A puzzled expression appeared in his eyes when his gaze left mine to look over my head.

"Well, well, well this is unexpected," he chuckled wryly. I span to find Jane glaring at me with all the enmity in her small body. I frowned, wondering what was supposed to be happening, until I realised. She could torture people with her mind, like she had Edward, but…not with me. I was safe from her.

Growling, obviously frustrated, Jane crouched ready to pounce, when I felt Aro's hand slide around my waist.

"Patience, dear one. She confounds us all," he said softly, yet his voice was pure silk. It flowed over my skin like icy water, and I struggled not to shiver or squirm under his touch, letting fear freeze me up into rigidity. I felt his fingers on the side of my face, moving my loose hair away from my cheek, before the backs slid down it, over the contours of my cheekbone to my jaw, turning my face to meet his eyes. "She confounds even me."

* * *

I could only stare up at him, frozen as the mouse is before the snake.

"I can see nothing. She blocks us all," he murmured, almost to himself, almost so low I couldn't hear him, but every vampire could. Edward growled from his position on the floor, still held by Felix.

A moment later I felt Aro's breath on my skin, as he breathed deeply of my scent. Fear rose in me but so did something else, something far more insidious and compelling. It quickened my breathing, set my pulse rocketing even more than it was already, in a way that only Edward had been able to evoke before.

"_La tua cantante_," he murmured, before I felt his eyes leave me and rise to the two vampires still being held by the Volturi. "Such protectiveness, and now I see why," he muttered. "Release them," he barked. Felix and Demetri let Edward and Alice go with low growls, still standing close to them so they couldn't try anything more. "Remember your words, Bella," he whispered in my ear, so low only I could truly hear him as close as we were.

Aro let me go and walked gracefully over to Edward and smiled condescendingly down at him as he stood up, rigid as a board. "You'll have to excuse us, Edward, Alice. I need to talk to Bella in private," he said, perfectly polite, but Edward growled anyway.

"No. Bella isn't going anywhere with you," he said, glaring at the older vampire.

"Edward…" Alice said warningly, taking his arm. Edward turned and looked straight at her. "No."

"I can't…." he began.

"No, Edward. He won't hurt her," Alice stared at him intently, trying to communicate something with her eyes. I narrowed mine, wondering what silent communication was passing between them.

"You have my word, Edward, redundant though it may be with Alice's assurance. She will not be harmed," Aro added. Just wanting to get it over and done with, so we could go home, I stepped up to Edward and squeezed his arm.

"It'll be alright, Edward. I don't think he'll hurt me," I assured him, trying to pretend I trusted the vampire leader. I didn't and I'd always been a terrible liar, and as expected, Edward's eyes narrowed. "Trust me I'll scream loud enough to break the sound barrier if he tries anything."

"And I'll be there in a flash. Be careful," he whispered, pain in his black eyes, before he let me go, brushing his lips over my forehead. A moment later I felt Aro place my hand in his, leading me away from Edward and out of the room.

* * *

I was led down interminable hallways of marble and stone, gilded with what I would have sworn was pure gold, ancient paintings and exquisite works of art littering the walls. Candelabras lit the halls with a gentle luminescence, more for effect than by necessity since vampires could see in the dark. But despite the opulence surrounding me, I couldn't relax or feel optimistic about this private meeting with Aro. Especially not with his gang of bodyguards throwing mental daggers at my back as I walked beside their leader.

At last we reached a great arched doorway, and Aro turned to his bodyguards.

"Leave us," he ordered softly. They all melted away into the shadows bar one, a young female who stayed as close as she could, until Aro shooed her away.

"Go, Renata. She may have defeated you, but she is no danger to me,"

With a slight whimper of distress, Renata left us.

* * *

"Gee, thanks for the compliment," I muttered under my breath, forgetting he could hear me. Aro chuckled and handed me through the door, and I couldn't help but gasp.

What I guessed to be Aro's personal quarters were elegant and luxurious, all gold gilding and opulent burnished mahogany. I was stood in a large sitting area, surrounded by tables holding candelabra and finely wrought alabaster figurines, a few books scattered over the tables' surfaces, ranging alongside mahogany framed sofas upholstered in cream damask. Books lined the cream coloured walls, as well as a few glittering pieces of art. I recognised a painting of the Mona Lisa, and pondered if it was a copy or not.

"Not exactly," Aro said from behind me, and I turned to meet his eyes. "I saw you looking at the painting. I knew Da Vinci and persuaded him to paint another before he presented his masterpiece to the world."

"Oh," was all I could say, nodding once. I tried to hide my shaking hands as Aro left my side to sit down, undoing the middle button of his black suit jacket, before fixing me with his gaze. I swallowed, uncomfortable.

"Why did you bring me here?" I finally asked, trying to inject some confidence into my voice. Aro's gaze did not waver.

"You are a puzzle, Bella Swan. You've confounded my bodyguards, particularly Renata and Jane. You've flouted vampire law and risked your life to save a man who abandoned you-" Aro began, speaking slowly, thoughtfully, before anger broke through my fear and my jaw firmed.

"Edward did not abandon me! He…he was trying to keep me safe-I-I…." I stopped and took a deep breath; fighting down the angry blush I could feel heating my cheeks. No need to tempt the bloodthirsty, carnivorous vampire. I turned to look Aro in the eye, where I found him staring at me. His gaze was fixed on my face.

"What?" I asked nervously.

"I see why Edward adores your blush so much. It really does enhance your beauty," Aro replied, calmly and smilingly. I stared at him, before his words sank in.

"That's none of your business. Why did you bring me here?" I reiterated, stepping closer to him. Aro smirked and regarded me through ruby eyes.

"So we may talk freely. Here your lover and his sister cannot hear us, and I would prefer that neither my brothers nor my guard hear the…substance of our conversation," he answered eventually, before standing in a blink of motion, to whisper in my ear. "So no matter how loudly you scream, Edward cannot hear you."

Instead of feeling fear at this statement, I felt only an odd yearning, one that surprised me as I stared at him. "Fine, so what do you want for sparing Edward's life?" I asked, hoping to just get it over with and get out of there. This situation was making me decidedly uncomfortable, particularly whilst he prowled around me predatorily, like a circling lion about to move in for the kill.

* * *

"You are a direct one, aren't you, Isabella Swan," he murmured, it wasn't a question. God, the way he said my name was a sensual caress in itself. "It's not quite as simple as that, my dear,"

"It's Bella," I blurted out. I really didn't want him calling me Isabella. "And what d'you mean it's not that simple?"

"What would you give me for your safe passage home, Bella?" Aro asked, looking directly into my eyes as he stopped in front of me. I stared at him blankly, my heart sinking. Tremblingly, I reached for my sleeve and bared my arm, where my pulse throbbed so hotly. I felt unbelievably warm under Aro's gaze, and it rankled slightly.

"If you want my blood, just take it. Let Alice and Edward go free," I whispered, fighting to keep my voice steady. Aro's amused chuckle sent me into shock, before anger set in. "What's funny? That's what you want isn't it?"

At my outburst, Aro sobered up, his eyes flashed, and I found myself spun around and clasped in his arms, my back to his torso. One cold hand was splayed loosely over my stomach, keeping me against him whilst his other hand sought out my bared wrist and pulled it up, so my upper arm and the crook of the elbow was level with his mouth.

"As tempting as your blood is, Isabella, it isn't what I want," he said, brushing his lips over the skin of my wrist, and up the length of my arm, before he draped it around his neck. God, the touch of his lips on my skin, it felt so-so good! Watching him do it set me aflame. I felt almost ashamed to admit it, but it did. I licked my suddenly dry lips, and managed to choke out,

"What are you doing?"

Aro's eyes met mine, his mouth mere inches from mine. "Just enjoying the bouquet. Unlike Edward, I need not fear that my control is too weak to enjoy the scent of you."

"Why are you doing this? What do you want?" I snapped, exasperated with his games. If he didn't want my blood then what did he want? I guess my thoughts showed on my face because Aro actually answered my unspoken question with a straight answer.

Almost.

"I think you know what I want," he whispered, pulling my hair free from my neck and sweeping it over the other side of my shoulders. He pulled me against him tighter, as I gasped. "I know what you want as well."

Horrified comprehension filled my mind. He wanted….that. That three letter word I never discussed with Edward because it was too 'dangerous' for a human and a vampire.

"No!" I yelled, trying to break free and finding it impossible to do so. "And no I don't want this. How dare you just…presume….th-that!"

Aro's hold still didn't budge a single iota, instead it tightened possessively. There was no way I could get free.

Duh.

* * *

"I may not be able to see into your mind, Bella, but your body is an open book," Aro whispered lasciviously against my artery, before that teasing sweep of cool lips again, sent my pulse racing. I felt the softness of his hair playing over the back of my hand where it was draped around his neck, the cool, slender yet hard body I'd been hauled against. There was a very good reason I shouldn't be here.

Edward, Edward, Edward…

But all thought was ripped away when Aro pulled my head around and set his lips to mine.

I was so going to hell for this.

* * *

It was rough and furious and passionate, yet never did I feel threatened by his strength. I twisted around in his arms and returned it, all thoughts wiped clean, just the instinctive desire to return the pleasure he was giving me remained. I opened my mouth to let him take it, sinking against Aro almost involuntarily. An intoxicating compulsion rose in my veins, one I couldn't fight for anything.

Aro's hand slid into my mussed hair, sliding around my nape and locking me to him. I struggled to breathe against his rock-hard chest, oxygen deprivation making me dizzy. I felt the sensation of flying, then falling as something soft pressed into my back, and the feeling of cool silk flowed over my skin. I opened my eyes and pulled back from Aro's lips, staring dazedly up at the ceiling.

Wait, the ceiling? Oh God…..

"God won't be much help to you right now, Bella," Aro stared down into my eyes. Whoops I hadn't thought I'd spoken aloud. I'd never thought I'd be lying on a bed with the leader of the Volturi either, but hey!

"Bella," he murmured, focussing my attention back on him, from where it had wandered in panicked procrastination. Then I realised where I was.

I was laid over his bed, hair flung out over the covers, one leg bent, whilst Aro, lying on his side, cradled me against his expensive suit-clothed chest, one long-fingered hand trailing over my forehead and face, lingering on the line of my lips. The other one rested on my abdomen, still making my heart race. I hoped in vain that the vampire beside me couldn't hear it.

His satisfied smile indicated otherwise, as he ran his thumb over my lower lip. Fresh desire rose at the contact, making the tender flesh of my lips throb. Chuckling slightly, Aro bent his head and teasingly brushed my lips with his, making me seek his lips. I was operating on auto-pilot; I locked my hand around his neck and kissed him. Hard.

* * *

I felt him shift, so his weight fell on me a bit more, and his hand glide under the material of my shirt, caressing the skin of my stomach and midriff. I gasped into our joined mouths, and arched my back, pushing my skin into his hand as it moved higher, brushing the rise of my chest. Aro's lips left mine, pressing hungry kisses onto my jawline, and down onto my neck. Soft gasps escaped from my mouth, as heat rushed through me, replacing any reluctance that could possibly have remained in my mind. I couldn't escape this, couldn't escape the realisation that I wanted him. Guilt had long since been subsumed by desire.

I'd never liked being passive with Edward, and I sure didn't like it now with Aro. I wanted to touch him as well as to be touched; I guessed he had a greater control over himself than Edward did. Tentatively, I raised my hands from where they lay by my sides, and gently touched his raven hair. Aro's mouth became greedier on my skin, as if he wanted to devour me, and my hands tightened around his skull, threading my fingers into the rich silk of his hair. I could feel his hands already pushing up my shirt, sliding up my ribcage, as I traced the line of his shoulders. Despite the fact he was slender, Aro was still broad-shouldered and muscular, his body as hard as any other vampire's. I splayed my hands over his back, holding him to me, aching to feel his cold skin warm to mine.

Aro pulled my shirt over my head, as I raised my arms to let him. He threw it away disdainfully. I had a sneaky suspicion that it landed quite neatly on a chair not far away.

Damn, perfect vampires with perfect aims!

Aro's lips crushed mine with newfound urgency, his hands now exploring my bared torso, possessively touching all he intended to claim. Impatiently I pushed at his suit jacket, which he ripped off with equal impatience, before I sat up to unbutton his shirt, revealing his toned, pale chest. I ran my hands over it hungrily, all embarrassment gone, pressing my lips to his neck, hunger for him dominating all. A second later, Aro pulled my head up to capture my lips in a kiss that should have been illegal. It was dark, enthralling…addictive.

* * *

When he tumbled me back, he broke from my kiss, to smile down at me.

"You are full of surprises, Isabella. I'm surprised Edward has managed to resist you for so long. He truly does not know what a jewel he has, _m__ea înger,_" he whispered, a gentle, amused smile on his face. I felt a strange, almost burning chill all over as his full weight fell on me, and I realised that we were both naked. I'd been so caught up in his kiss I hadn't noticed him undressing me completely. Seeing my puzzlement, Aro smirked wickedly, and set his lips to my breast.

I arched, pressing my lips together to avoid crying out. After a few moments of pleasurable torture, Aro raised his head to chuckle softly, as if amused by my struggles. It was so unbearably annoying, that smirk, that I longed to wipe it off.

"What?" I demanded, a touch belligerently, glaring at him. All my fear of him had seemed to have dissipated from the moment our lips had first touched.

"Don't hold it in, Bella. Like I said before, no matter how loudly you scream, no-one can hear us here," he chuckled, amusement and desire in those crimson eyes. I shivered, as the amusement disappeared and Aro suddenly pinned me down to the bed, kissing me deeply, passionately, possessively. I groaned, this was seriously becoming addictive, as I draped one arm around his neck, twining my fingers around his hair, whilst the other traced the lines of his neck and chest. I felt him shudder under my touch, but it was my turn soon enough when I felt him against me.

Thought fell away, and I was lost in a dark chasm of lust and passion, with a ruby-eyed god.

* * *

Alice's eyes narrowed at me suspiciously as we drove out of Volterra in the Porsche.

"Aro had you alone for a long time, Bella. What did he want?" she asked me. Jumping out of my skin, still cradled in Edward's arms, I struggled to come up with a plausible excuse.

"We just talked. I think he was sounding me out, to see if I would join him," I muttered, holding onto Edward's hand, trying to block out memories of him. We'd just made it out of Volterra with our lives, and I was relieved to be away from that beautiful but terrible city. Suddenly, my brain jerked into gear, as I felt Alice's eyes still on me. "Wait, didn't you see what was happening in there, Alice?" I asked, frowning tiredly. I was exhausted, covered in bruises, and holding onto Edward for dear life. I felt like such a hypocrite, but I didn't want to let go. He was going to leave me when we got back to Forks, and rightly so if he knew what had happened between me and the leader of the Volturi, and I intended to cherish every moment. But memories of _him_ kept intruding, those words in a soft, musical language he'd whispered soothingly into my ear, when I'd collapsed into his arms, drained of strength, his skin, his lips, his hands…

"Bella?"

At the sound of my name, I snapped out of it. "What?"

"I was just saying that I didn't see it, and I'm not sure why. I saw you coming back to us unharmed, but nothing else," Alice frowned and looked ahead.

"It doesn't matter. We're safe now, and Aro kept his promise," Edward murmured, in that musical voice I loved so much. It drove memories of Aro away for a moment, as I nestled in his chest, feeling my eyes begin to flutter shut, despite my will. I was running on no battery whatsoever. Not even guilt could find its way in at the moment, as memories flashed in front of my eyes. Edward standing at the mouth of the alley, poised to step out, the confrontation with the Volturi, watching Edward tortured by Jane, begging Aro for mercy and…all that came after. I still couldn't quite process the fact yet.

"Sleep, Bella," Edward leant down and whispered against my forehead. Sleep sounded like a good idea, and then I could process everything that had happened later.

Yeah, sleep sounded like a perfect idea.


	2. Bella: Addicted

Italians Do It Better

* * *

_You're like a drug; you're like a demon I can't face down,_

_It's like I'm stuck, it's like I'm running from you all the time. And I know I let you have all the power, it's like the only company I seek is misery all around._

_It's like you're a leech, sucking the life from me, it's like I can't breathe,_

_Without you inside of me. And I know I let you have all the power, _

_I realise I'm never going to quit you over time_

_-Kelly Clarkson, Addicted_

_Maybe I'm addicted; I'm out of control, _

_But you're the drug that keeps me from dying_

_- Enrique Iglesias, Addicted_

* * *

"Edward, I'll be fine. You need to go hunting, so go," I muttered, turning around to face my vampire boyfriend. I mean _fiancé_.

Someone kill me.

I mean it wasn't that I didn't want to marry Edward; I just didn't want to marry him so young. I was only eighteen for God's sake. I had only just graduated from school, he'd finally agreed to turn me into a vampire, and here I was with a massive rock on my finger, about to get married, just so he would turn me and sleep with me before I became a vampire. Because I wanted to experience it with him as a human first. I was not feeling good about this.

Sighing, I pressed a kiss to Edward's lips, feeling that sweet passion well up, before I let go. Even now Edward would only let me go so far, before he drew back, saying we'd put my life at risk enough for one day.

"I'll pick you up tomorrow afternoon," Edward smiled down at me, stroking my hair; before he leaned down to kiss me again. When I opened my eyes, he was gone.

I sighed again, walked to my bedroom window, leaning against it as I stared into the night. It had been a nightmare of a past few weeks. The confrontation with Victoria, the threat of the newborns', the Volturi's visit and having to choose between Jacob and Edward. A familiar spike of pain dug itself a little deeper into my heart at the memory of my former best friend, but Jacob's Bella was dead and buried. She was gone, forever.

Skipping away from that topic, my mind wandered away to that nightmarish incident with Bree and the Volturi. But it wasn't the fact that I'd watched as Jane, Felix and Demetri had murdered an innocent little girl, or that they had all but threatened me again because I was still human, but that their visit had brought back memories I'd fought to bury.

Aro.

Just thinking that name to myself sent shivers down my spine, heat flooding my being, and I licked my lips, remembering his cold ones pressed to mine. The way he'd touched me, the fascinated yet coldly calculating way he'd taken me, haunted me. I knew the only reason he had slept with me was to test if it were possible for a vampire to control themselves with a human, but I couldn't quite erase the incident from my head.

But still, remembering the feel of his silken raven hair beneath my hands was enough to send a shudder through me as I pushed away from my perch and walked towards my bedroom door.

I slipped into the bathroom, listening intently for Charlie's snores. They filled the house, as I smiled, and brushed my teeth. After rinsing my mouth, I pressed the towel to my face and straightened, patting my skin dry. Looking up into the mirror, I caught sight of myself in the mirror.

My skin was flushed and rosy, my eyes bright, despite the shadows that still lingered under my eyes. I still tossed with nightmares at night, of Victoria and the Volturi. It felt like I would never be free of Aro and his memory, haunting me.

I shook my head to clear it, slipped into my sweatpants and camisole, and let my hair down, so it tumbled free and messy around my shoulders. I switched the light off and left the bathroom.

* * *

I was lost in my thoughts as I re-entered my bedroom, the moonlight throwing silvery strips across the shadows. It was when I turned to close my bedroom door that I suddenly felt a gust of wind against my back.

You know that feeling, when your skin is crawling like a thousand spiders are marching over it, and you can just sense someone's eyes on you? Guess what I felt.

And guess whose eyes I met when I turned around to face my open bedroom window.

Aro.

* * *

"Happy to see me, Bella?" he asked. He was sat on my window ledge, leaning nonchalantly against the frame, arms crossed, dressed in his trademark black suit with a long overcoat, his long raven hair restrained by a clip, the crest of the Volturi glittering on a chain around his neck. His blood-red eyes were fixed on mine as he smiled, a long, slow, sensual smirk I recognised instantly. I clung onto the door handle of my bedroom door for dear life, hoping he wouldn't pick up on the fact that my heartbeat had risen reluctantly at the sight of him, to a tempo I was used to with Edward. Or that my skin had already heated, wanting his touch, yearning for his chill to freeze it.

Ice to my fire, predator to my prey.

I scowled at him, fighting back that side of me he could set free with just a look. A darker, more primal and selfish Bella. I had betrayed Edward once with Aro, hurt him with Jacob, and I wouldn't make that mistake again.

"What are you doing here, Aro?" I asked, my mind racing. Aro straightened, and was in front of me in a flash, so I instinctively pressed myself back into the door.

"That's no way to greet an old friend," he said admonishingly, his devilish smile matching the demonic eyes staring into mine. I swallowed, fighting to control my own impulses, not to mention my pulse rate. I dragged my eyes up from his lips, to meet his eyes.

"You don't exactly count as an 'old friend', Aro. Last time we met, I nearly died, remember?" I countered, my tone overly brusque and snappish. Aro pretended to wince.

"My pride is hurt, Bella. But I think you're forgetting something," he replied, leaning in close. I could feel my eyes flare wide, my lips throbbing, as I turned my head aside, and tried to adopt a sneering, indifferent look.

"I really don't think I am," I muttered, already sliding away from him, expecting to be dragged back any second, but he let me go. Hiding my sense of relief, and disappointment if I'm honest, I moved into the centre of my small room, and crossed my arms, defensively. "If I recall correctly, if I wasn't going to be turned into a vampire, I was going to become dinner. Did I forget anything?"

"Your memory is impeccable, Bella, but I wasn't referring to that," Aro murmured, already stalking towards me. I swallowed, my breath stuttering, my confidence evaporating. I turned my back to his approach, fighting deep within to find the strength to deny him, if he wanted what I thought he wanted.

"Why are you here, Aro?" I asked again, hoping it would forestall him. It didn't.

"Come with me and see," he murmured in my ear, one strong arm closing around my waist, pressing me back into his body. A moment later, his lips kissed the join of my shoulder to my neck, as flames leapt under my skin. I hesitated to speak. "Unless you prefer I take your father, whom I believe is sleeping next door?"

I sighed. Typical Aro.

Doesn't get what he wants first time through asking, or seduction, he manipulates you instead.

"Fine, I'm coming with you. Just let me grab a jacket," I sighed, as he released me with a pleased smirk, and stepped back to the window. "You'd better get me back before tomorrow afternoon,"

"Of course. I'm sure you have plenty to do planning your wedding," Aro cocked an eyebrow at me. I gaped at him, mid-way through rummaging my wardrobe for my comfiest jacket.

"How d'you kno-?" I began before Aro sighed impatiently.

"You're wearing a rather lovely diamond on your left ring finger, Bella. It isn't hard to guess whom your engagement is to, unless you've become involved with any other vampires," he gestured to the engagement ring I'd forgotten to take off before I got changed for bed.

"It might not be another vampire," I muttered, blinking. Why I was talking about this with him, I didn't know.

"My dear, you seem unable to fall for any being, other than a vampire. You seem to have a 'thing' for vampires," he drawled arrogantly, his eyes steady on my face. Pain flashed through me for a second, along with guilt, as I remembered Jacob. And Edward. How Alice hadn't already seen us and come screeching up the road I had no idea. A part of me, the logical, rational Bella was half wishing for her to see us; whilst another was relieved she hadn't seen us. That we hadn't been discovered.

I turned away to hide my tears. Aro didn't need to know about the werewolves, and I really didn't want to show weakness in front of him. He was forcing me to go with him after all, and I didn't want to let him see me upset. The former wasn't exactly true, in the subconscious sense, but the latter was.

Finally I shrugged into my grey hooded jacket, and some sneakers, taking off my engagement ring.

"Where are you taking me, anyway?" I asked, turning to face the ancient vampire beside me.

"Seattle. Don't worry, I'll have you back here before noon tomorrow," he held his hand up to stem my objection, before he reversed his hand and held it out to me. "Now come here."

Gathering my courage, I took his hand, feeling his eyes on me. "What?"

"Here," he shrugged out of his black overcoat, draping it over my shoulders. I poked my arms through the sleeves, and pulled it around me. It was a little big on me, and it smelt of his scent.

The smell of ancient books and freshness from eternal forests of pine.

Aro held out his hand to me, and I let myself be pulled into his arms, cradled against his chest. His long raven hair fell against my face, surrounding me with his scent, as I leant my cheek against it, nestling into his hard arms. At the chuckle that went through him, I looked up.

"Ready?" he asked me, red eyes seeming to actually twinkle.

"As I'll ever be," I muttered, as we flitted out of the room, and through the open window.

* * *

We seemed to fly through the forests and canyons of the Olympic Peninsula, before the glittering cityscape of Seattle loomed in the distance. It seemed like only moments ago that we had stood in my bedroom. I felt my heart speed up in my chest, as I clung to Aro's neck, his coat shielding me from the night air. It was fairly warm for northern Washington, but I still shivered slightly.

Not from cold, unfortunately.

We passed through the city at an impossible speed, as I marvelled inwardly at the agility and supernatural speed of Aro. Some part of me had expected he couldn't move as fast as other vampires, perhaps due to his age or the fact that he didn't have to use it as much, but there was nothing wrong with his ability to run. He might even have been faster than Edward.

Not that I'd tell him that, he was self-conceited enough as it was.

Before I knew it, we stood at the fire escape of an old-fashioned looking hotel, as Aro jumped up the metal railings, and I fought not to throw up all over his Italian shoes from the motion.

We passed through a set of French windows and into a small suite of rooms. Aro set me on my feet, as I stared around me in wonder.

I was stood in a room that had to be styled after a Renaissance painting. A sleigh bed, the wooden base intricately carved, lay in an alcove, whilst finely carved and polished tables, chests, desks and bookshelves lined the walls and the floor, which was a fine parquet. The walls were painted a golden cream colour, gold gilded wall candelabras sending flickering shadows over the walls and painted ceiling, decorated with frescoes of angels.

* * *

"What is this place?" I asked, trying not to let my mouth open from awe.

"A safe house, for my family. We own several in major cities across the globe, for our guard to use when they are despatched to give justice," Aro replied, taking both my jackets as they slid down my arms. He'd closed the French doors when we'd arrived, so I was no longer in danger of getting cold.

"Hang on, why are you here? I thought you didn't leave Volterra at all," I spun around to face him, frowning. He smiled at me, a predatory, suggestive grin that sent shivers down my spine.

"As a general rule, no _**I**_ don't, except for very special cases. Nor do Caius or Marcus," he murmured, before taking a step towards me. I stepped back, feeling a wall behind me, my hands splayed across it. I swallowed, my eyes dropping to his lips. "Currently Jane, Demetri and Felix are in Seattle ensuring that the last of the newborn army has been eradicated."

"Caius isn't here, is he?" I asked nervously, remembering my last encounter with the haughty immortal.

"No. You're safe Bella. Marcus sends his regards," Aro chuckled, as I rolled my eyes, some of my nervous tension dissipating slightly. The thought of the apathetic Marcus sending me regards was laughable, even when one is trapped against a wall with a vampire. "Caius won't be sending a hunting party until _**I **_say so. You're safe, for now,"

With that, he put his hand on my cheek, and my eyes fluttered shut at his touch, cold and hard against my softer skin. My skin was feverish, and his touch was soothing, as I nestled into his hand.

"What are you doing?" I asked him, as his hand stroked down my face and neck, to rest over my heartbeat.

"Just checking something," he murmured, and I knew he, like Jane, was making sure I was still immune to his power, before he continued, "the sound of your heartbeat is enthralling, Isabella, especially when combined with your scent."

Those words set me afire, as he leaned his head in, and our lips brushed. My eyes closed again, before a question rose, one he had failed to answer in Forks.

"Why have you brought me here?" I asked again, opening my eyes to look up into his ruby ones, fighting down the impulse to kiss him. Once more all thoughts of Edward were subsumed beneath desire and need. I _needed _his kiss, his touch, his body, even if I could be killed. It was an unholy, dark addiction, one I'd fought for months, and now it was going to be temporarily sated.

He'd taught me about intimacy with a vampire, and it was something I not only craved, but lived for with him. I sensed it would never be the same with another as it would be with him. I would always have to worry about Edward losing control with me, at least until I was changed, but with Aro, he was too old to lose control.

With this omniscient leader of the Volturi, I was truly safe.

"Because I appear to be addicted to you, Isabella," Aro answered my question, before his lips captured mine. After a second, I returned his kiss, opening my mouth, letting him take it as I stretched up and let him pull me against him.

I felt unbearably warm, even when my skin came into contact with his much cooler skin, as I twined my arms around his neck. His mouth broke from mine, to drop to my neck, and I was very glad I had the wall behind me to lean on, otherwise I would have been on the floor. A strangled moan escaped my lips, as my eyes rolled back into my head and my spine arched. Aro's hand tightened on my hip, pulling me closer, whilst the other travelled to my neck, twining with my hair. All my blood seemed to rush to the surface of my skin, as if answering the call of the man in whose arms I stood embraced. A slow ache permeated every inch of my body, growing in intensity as I shifted in his hold. Impatiently, I pushed at his suit jacket, manhandling it down his arms, before attacking his shirt. If I had had the strength, I probably would have torn them from him, an urge I sensed in him, as his hand grabbed handfuls of my camisole. His lips attacked mine, leaving my neck which felt raw and bruised after the attention of his mouth, and I felt my camisole roughly pulled from my body. He broke from our kiss to growl against my lips.

"Hold onto me,"

I levered myself up in his hold, wrapping my legs around his waist, as we flitted over to the bed, and he laid me down on it, our lips still fused, my head spinning from desire and oxygen deprivation. As our bare skin met, I let free another ecstatic moan, as Aro left my kiss, to trail kisses down my torso. He lingered over my navel, before placing his lips to the scar on my right wrist.

The one James had given me.

He kissed up my arm, and to my neck, as my hand trailed over the rise of his shoulder, and up his neck, resting on the back of his neck, his raven hair draping my hand in shadowy splendour. His hand rested in the curve of my waist, as he lowered his head and just brushed my lips. I frowned up at him, expecting rough passion, as he seemed content to simply lie there, and look down on me.

Our first time had been tender and reasonably gentle, despite the bruises I'd acquired across my waist and down my back. I had a feeling this time wouldn't be so careful. It was almost as if Aro was waiting for me to make the first move…..

I re-focussed on his eyes, and saw there what I'd expected to find. He wanted to know I wanted this, with all the dangers it involved. That I would be the one instigating it. Without thinking, I reached up and kissed him, pulling him down to me. Aro's hands roamed my body freely now, rough, claiming, but not painful. I writhed underneath his caresses, exploring his body as eagerly as he did mine. Our need overflowed when he finally took me, when my body was so full of desire and pleasure, I wouldn't have wanted to resist him for anything.

Hours later, I slept in Aro's arms, worn out and exhausted, as the moon rode high in the sky outside.

* * *

I awoke to the sunlight slowly poking its rays through the heavy curtains, and the feel of Aro's hand gently tracing the curve of my hip and the dip of my waist. I could already feel the beginnings of aches and pains starting in my back and limbs, but it didn't feel too bad. Definitely not bad enough to puncture the bubble of languorous satiation I floated in.

"It's morning," I murmured, sighing heavily. A part of me didn't want to leave him, even though I loved Edward. I didn't love Aro.

"We should get you back home," Aro replied, his arm tightening around me. I sighed contentedly. "I'm sure your dear sister-in-law-to-be can barely wait to get her hands on you."

"Don't joke about it. It isn't funny," I muttered, groaning. As much as I wanted to let Alice have her fun, I was not looking forward to it. In fact I was half wishing someone would kill me now so I wouldn't have to go through with it. I could feel Aro chuckling behind me, as we lay in bed together.

Mid-morning traffic noises were already filtering through into the room, as I sighed and Aro let me up to snag my clothes. He was right; I needed to get home, before Edward or Alice discovered my absence. The thought chilled me, but, why hadn't Alice seen me and Aro?

The thought mystified me, as I shrugged into my jacket, stretching gingerly. My back twinged slightly, but not too bad on the bruises front.

"Finished the inspection yet?" Aro inquired from behind me, as I turned to him. A self-deprecating smile on his lips, fully dressed, as he held out his hand to me. I took it and let him pull me to him, our lips meeting with practiced ease. I moaned at his experienced kiss, clinging to his neck, running my hands through his already mussed hair, the crest of the Volturi cold against my chest where I was pressed against him so tightly. Aro broke it, breathing raggedly as I was.

"Come. We have a long run ahead of us," he muttered, swinging me onto his back. I buried my face in his sweet-smelling hair, and closed my eyes as he began to run. The night seemed an age ago, and the aftermath still affected me.

* * *

Aro left me in my bedroom, at approximately 9.00 am. I was surprised by how quickly we'd gotten home, gaping at my clock before Aro's hand on mine brought me back to reality.

"Adieu, _mea inger_," he murmured, pulling me close. He claimed my lips in a rough, bruising kiss, one I sank into submissively, before he was gone, the space he'd occupied deserted.

I shivered, cold now without him, as I crossed to shut my bedroom window, my mind a million miles away, craving his touch, his kiss.

It was as I'd feared. Aro had said he was addicted to me, but now I was addicted to him.

Irrevocably and unconditionally addicted to him.


	3. Bella: Bad Romance

Italians Do It Better

* * *

_I want your ugly  
I want your disease  
I want your everything  
As long as it's free  
I want your love _

_I want your drama  
The touch of your hand  
I want your leather-studded kiss in the sand  
I want your love  
You know that I want you  
And you know that I need you  
I want it bad, your bad romance  
I want your horror  
I want your design  
'Cause you're a criminal  
As long as your mine  
I want your love  
I want your love and  
I want your revenge  
I want your love  
I don't wanna be friends  
I want your love and  
I want your revenge  
You and me could write a bad romance  
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oooh!  
I want your love and  
all your lovers' revenge  
you and me could write a bad romance_

_Bad Romance-Lady Gaga_

* * *

I woke up that morning, feeling like the entire contents of my stomach wanted to explode out of my body. I lurched out of bed and towards the bathroom, feeling cold sweat run down my neck. I felt so hot; almost like I had a temperature. I slammed the door behind me, only just making it to the toilet.

"Bells? You ok in there?" Charlie called from the other side of the door. I stopped retching long enough to call back.

"Yeah. Just ate something funny last night," I muttered, making sure to keep my hair out of my face. At last the nausea receded, and I straightened slowly, feeling like I was about to faint, catching a glimpse of myself in the mirror. My skin was clammy, my eyes bright and feverish.

"Bells? Alice is here," Charlie called from the kitchen. My eyes widened in the mirror, and I scrambled around to lock the bathroom door. A moment later, the door opened anyway as Alice barged in.

"Bella you really shouldn't try that-Bella are you alright?" she asked, concern replacing the peeved look on her face as she flitted forward and took my hand, her golden eyes taking in my clammy face.

"Yeah, just ate something dodgy that's all. I'm fine, Alice," I muttered, hoping my nausea wasn't about to make a grand re-entrance all over Alice's expensive Gucci shoes.

"Yeah, it looks like it, Bella. You're su-" Alice trailed off as she touched my skin, her eyes drifting downward to my stomach.

"Alice…Alice what is it?" I asked nervously, not sure what she'd found. A stunned expression leached over her beautiful face as she raised her eyes to mine. I reeled back from the expression in them

Fear, disapproval, puzzlement, wonder…

"Bella, I can hear a heartbeat," she started slowly. I gaped at her, wondering if she'd hit her head.

"Well, duh, I am standing right here, Alice," I muttered. Alice scowled at me.

"Not yours, idiot. At least not just yours," she replied snappishly. She eyed me, whilst I shivered in my sweatpants, cold now where I had been hot, shaking slightly from that mystery bout of nausea. If I was honest, I'd woken up like this for the past two days, throwing up in the morning…

Oh God!

"Bella when did you last have your period?" Alice asked gravely.

* * *

I stared at myself in the mirror, the pregnancy test Alice had popped out to buy thrown on the bed in front of me. Two blue lines filled the tiny screen, as I gaped at the swollen rise of my belly, my hands gently skating over the top of it. It wasn't huge but it was…noticeable. And totally unexpected.

I was pregnant.

Alice sat on the bed, watching me through sombre eyes, biting her lower lip.

"Bella, who was it?" she asked at last. Tears filled my eyes, at the memories that flooded into my head, and the thought of what I'd done. I would hurt Edward so much, because of my stupidity and my selfishness. My tears slipped free, and I sank to my knees. After a second I felt Alice's arms come around me, and I clung to her, even though I expected her to push me away in revulsion and hatred. I'd betrayed her brother, my fiancé, and in turn betrayed my adopted family, the Cullens.

"Bella, shush, it'll be alright," she murmured, rocking me back and forth. I was thankful Charlie had left for work, so he couldn't see me like this. Oh God what would I tell him?

I continued to cry hard into Alice's shoulder, wrecking her blouse, as she stroked my hair.

Of course I knew who the father was. There was only one vampire I'd ever slept with, but my brain didn't seem to want to accept that fact. Maybe this was all a bad dream.

"Bella," Alice's voice cut through my misery, and I raised my head, still crying, cradling my stomach. "I need to know: who is the father?"

I shook my head, and lowered it in shame. If I told her, she'd hate me forever.

Nothing could prepare me for her next words.

"Aro's the father, isn't he?" she murmured. I stared at her, shocked. She smiled sadly, "I'm right aren't I?"

"How did-?" I started to ask, but she waved my question aside.

"I always thought it was fishy how I couldn't see what happened between you two a year ago in Volterra. But…..when did you last see him?" she asked, strangely patient with me. I gaped at her.

"What? Alice aren't you, I dunno, furious or disgusted or…or…or something? I cheated on Edward!" I exploded shrilly. Alice looked at me like I was an idiot.

"Bella, you're my friend, my sister. I don't particularly approve, but I'm not going to abandon you when you need me," she replied, brow furrowed. I hugged her, too emotional for words, as she dropped a kiss onto my hair. "Now answer my question."

Unable to speak, like there was a golf ball trapped in my throat, I just nodded.

"When did you last see him?" she asked, her pixie hand stroking my hair soothingly as I struggled not to start crying again. Hormones were a bitch.

"Umm…last week, I think. He was in Seattle with a few of the Volturi Guard, clearing up the last of the newborns," I answered, remembering with a blush what had occurred between us. In that moment I yearned for him, for his touch, for his comfort, but even more I wanted to see Edward, one last time. I couldn't stay with him now, I had to leave.

I suddenly felt a nudge in my stomach, and I gasped, one hand over my mouth.

"Bella, are you alright?" Alice took my hand, as I gasped again. I could feel my baby moving about within me, but that couldn't be possible. It couldn't be. Then there two nudges at the precise same time, on opposite sides of my belly. The tyke certainly was active.

"It kicked. The baby kicked me," I murmured, looking up at her, my eyes wide. Alice's own flared in surprise and disbelief.

"It couldn't do. You're only five days late, your body couldn't have registered the fact yet…." She mumbled, before placing a hand against my abdomen. My baby kicked again, that same double hit, and I sucked the air in between my teeth. It was slightly painful, as I felt my baby move within me. I suddenly knew he would be a boy, maybe with Aro's black hair and my eyes? Or…

Hang on, was I getting all misty eyed imagining what that monster and me had created?

Self-disgust filled me again, and I felt the tears fight to break loose again. Alice continued speaking, oblivious to my distress.

"…I felt it. You are way too developed to be just five days pregnant," she finished, raising her head to look me in the eye.

"I swear Alice, the nausea has only been affecting me for a couple of days," I shook my head.

"Well this is a hybrid we're talking about…I mean anything could happen, Bella…." Alice's eyes blanked out.

I'd been thinking myself while she talked, and I felt my child move in me. Whatever his origin, I couldn't help but love him. I'd never been maternal, in fact the thought of children had always been a bit repulsive to me, especially because they were so…dirty. But in that moment I was filled with unconditional love for this tiny life that grew within me. I couldn't let anything happen to it.

"Bella!"

"What?" I swung around at Alice's shout of alarm, as she gripped my arm, and another slight pain sliced through me.

"I can't see you anymore. I can't see anything," she groaned, her teeth gritted, her brow furrowed like she had a headache.

"Alice, what d'you mean? Why can't you-?" I stared at her, confused. The only time she had never been able to see me was when I was with the wolves, or Jacob. Or both times with Aro. What was happening.

"Bella, I think we need to talk to Carlisle. And Edward," she added.

My heart sank.

* * *

I shook with dread as Alice drove me up the driveway to the Cullens' house in my truck. I just knew this wasn't going to go well.

I was shaking as I followed Alice into the house. Carlisle was at work, but Esme and Jasper were seated downstairs, reading. Rosalie and Emmet were nowhere to be seen, thankfully, but Edward sat at the piano, playing a tune I knew instantly. My lullaby. My heart broke all over again.

As we entered, Jasper's head shot up, sensing the discrepancies in mine and Alice's emotional states. Edward stopped playing, picking up on Jasper's thoughts and Alice's, his golden eyes focussing on mine. Esme, perhaps sensing the tension slowly filling the room, looked up, smiling gently.

"Bella. How are you, dear?" she asked, standing to enfold me in her sweetly scented, cold arms. But then my baby decided to kick.

The reaction would have been funny, were it not for the circumstances, and the pain I was going to cause, inevitably. All because of my selfishness.

Esme jumped back from me, Edward flitted to my side, as Jasper moved to Alice's.

"Bella, what is going on?" he demanded, his eyes fixed on my stomach and the heartbeat they could no doubt hear. I opened my mouth, but it had gone dry.

"Tell him, Bella," Alice prompted me as gently as she could. Edward's eyes stayed on mine.

"Tell me what, Bella?" he asked quietly.

"I…I…I'm pregnant, Edward," I finally managed to whisper, in a cracked, strained tone. Esme gasped, Jasper started in surprise, and Alice grimaced.

"Alice?" Edward turned to his pseudo-sister. "Is this true?"

"Edward, don't be stupid. You can hear the foetus's heartbeat for yourself," Alice snapped.

Edward turned back to me, and his eyes turned hard. I cowered away from him, tears filling my eyes. "Edward, I'm so sorry,"

"Who?" he asked in a deadly quiet voice, not looking at me.

"Edward, I…"

"WHO!" he finally lost control, grabbing hold of my upper arms. I yelped in pain, as Jasper sent a wave of calm through the house, and Edward visibly relaxed. I could feel myself shaking with terror, as he released me and stepped back. Esme took hold of my shoulders and sat me down on the sofa, rubbing my arm soothingly. Even though I had betrayed their family, Alice and Esme still protected and cared for me. Jasper stood as one frozen, whilst Edward turned his back to me, crossed his arms and stared out of the window.

"Who, Bella?" he asked again, before he stiffened. I glanced sideways at Alice, and guessed he was seeing our conversation in her memories. I stroked my stomach soothingly, feeling that same double nudge again.

My little nudger.

Tears filled my eyes, as I watched the profile of my fiancé, the pain I glimpsed there before his face hardened, blanking out.

"Aro. You couldn't be satisfied with me, could you Bella? Or with Jacob?" he shook his head in disgust, glaring down at me. I could feel myself breaking down, before anger surged up. How dare he?

I'd given myself to Aro to save his and Alice's life in Volterra. As for the second time, he had threatened to take my father, even though that wasn't a very concrete excuse, but still….

I stood up, shaking with anger and pain. "Don't you dare, Edward. I did it to save your lives in Volterra. That was the price he demanded of me, when he had me alone, and I gave it for you, Edward. Because I couldn't bear the thought that you would die because of me,"

Edward stiffened again, still facing the window, and I could sense the surprise emanating from Jasper, Alice and Esme.

"And the second time? You haven't been carrying that…foetus for an entire year, Bella," Edward growled, sounding as if it was through gritted teeth.

"I….." but I couldn't lie to him. I had gone with Aro willingly the second time, to feed that addiction to him, to sate it and just let go. To be someone else, to release the pain I felt in rejecting Jacob. The same pain I felt hurting Edward now. "I'm sorry Edward."

Silence reigned in the house, as we sat there, and I felt tears begin to fall. I rubbed my stomach soothingly as my baby kicked again. He sure was an active little thing.

Unable to bear it any longer, knowing they all must be hating me now, I stood abruptly.

"I need to go. I'm sorry for…everything," I murmured to Esme and Jasper, before I crossed the room to Edward. He was stood like a statue, rock-hard. I placed my hand on his back, and bowed my head.

"I'm sorry, Edward. I love you," I whispered one last time, before I turned and fled the house.

Because a part of me really wasn't sorry at all.

* * *

As I ran down the porch steps, I fell, tripping over. I was suddenly supported by a set of cold arms.

"Bella, where are you going?" Alice asked me concernedly, as Jasper came out onto the porch as well.

"I need to think. I have to get out of here, before I hurt anyone else," I murmured, shaking. I was poison, and I needed to get away.

"Bella-" Alice shook her head, before I cut her off.

"No, Alice. I need time alone, to think," I said forcefully.

"But I can't see you anymore, Bella. At least tell me where you're going so I can find you if I need to," she pleaded with me, and I could almost pretend that she could still love me.

"Home. I'll be at home," I lied, shrugging her hand off and getting into my truck. I reversed, my hands holding the steering wheel in a death grip, as I coaxed my old truck into the fifties. Looking behind me, I saw Alice and Jasper standing on the porch steps, looking after me as I drove away. I both feared and wished for Edward to appear one last time, or to race after me and stop the car. But he didn't come.

"I'm sorry, Edward," I whispered one last time, quiet as the wind that rustled through the pine trees beside the house. "Goodbye."

* * *

I drove for what seemed like hours on end, until I realised I was retracing my steps onto the reservation. But what was I doing here?

Jacob had run away weeks ago, and there was no-one left for me here. Charlie was still at work, and besides, I couldn't go to him and tell him a) I was pregnant, b) the wedding was off, c)the child wasn't Edward's and d) it wasn't even entirely human.

There was no way forward for me that I could see. My once glorious future was dead.

I parked my truck on the beach, in a copse of trees bordering Billy's house. The lights were off and the house was silent. Night was falling, as a storm began to roll in. I got out, pulled my jacket around me tighter, forcing it over my stomach and set off up the path I had walked a year ago, to the top of the La Push cliffs.

The cliff I'd jumped off, just so I could hear Edward's voice.

The waves crashed against the cliffs, as the storm clouds, like shields of dark iron, raced in. The pounding of the waves was more turbulent here, and I got sprayed several times before the dirt path to the top took me above the waves. Finally I reached the top, as the first rain drops started, and they mingled with my tears. I was crying almost hysterically by the time I reached the top, and I sank down onto my knees, cutting my hand on the rocks. My engagement ring fell from my finger.

I had ruined everything. Everything I touched, I seemed to destroy.

Jacob, with the love I could never fully reciprocate.

Edward, with his misplaced trust in me, and the devotion I had so callously misused.

My vampire family; how could any of them look at me with anything other than disgust or hate after this? And all this because I let my infatuation with Aro go too far. Because I was too weak to fight him, to deny the Bella he could bring forth, his Isabella, who was selfish and dark and passionate and unthinking. Uncaring.

I had already started to shiver when the first hot flushes came. The sun had sunk beneath the horizon, and a storm whirled around me. All was black and cold. My skin burned, my dry, chapped lips aching for a glass of water; whilst I shivered violently.

Great now I had hypothermia.

I felt my baby stir, my little boy, and cried all over again, as I lay curled up on the rocky outcropping I'd once jumped from.

I was so tired.

So, so tired. My eyes shut, and I felt my body go limp. Death was peaceful, easy. Living is so much harder.

* * *

"Over here!"

"We've found her!"

Shouts and cries punctured my consciousness as suddenly strong arms hoisted me into a hard cradle. I opened my eyes blearily, shivering violently at the cold surrounding me. What I saw chilled me even further.

A person with angelic features and blood-red eyes was staring down at me, a strange expression on her youthful face. I frowned, trying to place her.

Jane…

I snapped my head round, weakly, to stare up at the person holding me cradled in their arms. I met blood-red eyes and hard, masculine features with nondescript brown hair, clothed in grey and black. He was big and hulking, like Emmet.

Felix…

"Rest, Bella," Felix said in his deep, husky voice as lifted me from the ground.

"You're safe now," another voice came from beside me, and I vaguely recognised Demetri, the Volturi tracker Edward had once mentioned.

"She looks half-dead already," Jane commented coldly. "Hardly worth all this effort."

"We may as well just put her out of her misery," Felix pitched in. Er, hello, I was awake and hearing this! I wasn't sodding invisible!

I could just imagine Felix's leer and Jane's sadistic smile.

"The master told us to bring her back alive, and….JANE, what are you doing?" Demetri barked, his tone no louder than a strong whisper, but it was sharp and condemnatory.

"Just checking," Jane murmured in her bell-like voice. I felt someone's, Demetri's, hand on my forehead, cool on my skin.

"Sleep, Bella. You'll be home soon,"

Home. I had no home now.

I sank into unconsciousness, my hands resting protectively over my swollen stomach.


	4. Bella: You Will Never Be Alone

Italians Do It Better

* * *

_-I am the man/ Mark my words well_

_With whom you'll share/ Heaven or hell._

_'eaven, I fancy, 'as no place for me_

_And I can find hell on my own!_

_Like it or not/ You will never be alone._

_After tonight, you will never be alone._

-JEKYLL & HYDE, excerpt from "Lucy Meets Hyde"

* * *

I woke up nestled up against something cold and hard, soft silk beneath my back and legs. I was warm, and I felt loved and content, as a cool hand stroked my hair.

Memory slowly filtered back into my head, as I remembered everything that had happened. My revelation, the confrontation with Edward, going to the cliff top, collapsing, being found by the Volturi.

The Volturi!

My eyes snapped open, and I glanced around, whilst trying to stay as still as I could, pretending to be sleeping.

There was an odd sensation in my ears, like pressure was building up. I swallowed, and it popped.

I was on a plane, but boy, was this plane unlike anything I'd ever seen.

The oval windows were blacked out, so no light could make it through them, whilst the cabin was softly lit by lamps placed on small mahogany tables scattered around. I seemed to be lying on a bed, bolted to the floor, looking over a tan leather sofa in the middle of the cabin. Two doors led away from the cabin, I guessed to other cabins or to the cockpit.

Finally my eyes strayed onto whatever hard object I was lying against, beside the silk of the bedcovers. My eyes met expensive designer linen, in the darkest shade of black, a glittering 'V' hanging from a pendant at my eye level.

"Good morning, Bella," a low voice whispered in my ear, one that managed to send both shivers of fear and flutterings of desire through my body. It certainly didn't help with my pulse rate.

My baby kicked, and I struggled to hold back a gasp. It looked like my little nudger knew its father when he heard him too.

Inwardly shaking, I tilted my head up to meet marble-like skin, framed by raven hair, and deep crimson eyes.

* * *

Aro.

"Welcome back to the land of the living," he continued, smiling down on me genially.

"What are you doing here, then?" I replied, biting my tongue a second too late. No need to over-provoke him, Bells.

But Aro only chuckled, continuing to look down into my eyes, unnerving me slightly. His hand still stroked my hair, and I realised I still wore my old jeans and sweater, although my jacket had disappeared. When I spoke, my voice was a dim croak.

"Where am I?" I murmured, feeling a stinging sensation in my throat.

"Somewhere over the Atlantic. I think we're about halfway home by now," Aro replied softly. I felt my eyes go wide.

"What? How dare you think you could just up and kidnap m-" I exploded, angered beyond belief. The arrogant sonofa-!

"Bella, when Felix and Demetri found you, you were half-dead from hypothermia. A little gratitude would be nice," he interrupted me smoothly, that insanely attractive, infuriating smirk I knew too well on his face. I huffed impatiently.

"Fine. Thank you," I muttered ungraciously, dropping my gaze. I felt too tired to have a verbal sparring match with Aro right then. I just wanted to go back to sleep, and my eyes did start to droop shut. "Where are you taking me?"

"Home. To Volterra," Aro answered promptly, "incidentally, when were you planning on telling me about our future offspring?"

His tone was genial and off-hand, like he was enquiring about the weather, but there was an edge to his voice that had me going rigid. Oh crap….

"How did you find me?" I retorted, trying to put off the inevitable. His hand dropped from my shoulders to my stomach, splaying over the gentle curve, beneath the hem of my sweater. I fought to hide my gasp at his touch, cool against my feverish skin, and the first stirrings of desire that it elicited.

"Oh no, Isabella. I asked you a question first," he murmured against my ear, before his hand tilted my chin up and round to meet his lips, as they captured mine. I groaned and gave up any notion of fighting as he rolled me over and into the bed, his weight supported over me so I wasn't pinned, but surrounded by him. There was no escape.

I opened my mouth and let him take possession, sighing in pure ecstasy as I ran my hands through his hair, my hand literally itching to touch the rest of him. His seduction ended as abruptly as it had begun, as he left my lips, leaving me raising my head to follow them, aching for more. At that moment, my little nudger decided to make his presence known, that same strange double hit on opposite sides of my stomach. Aro settled me back against his side, his arm over my shoulders possessively.

"Now about that question, Isabella," he murmured, and I sighed. I was never going to get away with this. My lips throbbed from his kiss.

"Fine. How about…never?" I shrugged my shoulders. His hand tightened, and I decided for my general health, to tell him the truth and stop baiting him. "To be honest, Aro, I didn't know what I was going to do. I'd only found out that morning, and now….."

My words got stuck in my throat, lodged into place, as tears blurred my vision.

I felt Aro's hand tilting up my face to meet his eyes. I fought him, even though it was useless to do so, determined not to give into him like some weak, little girl.

* * *

His hard red gaze softened at the sight of my tears.

"What happened?" he asked quietly.

"I had to tell Edward. Alice knew already, but Edward found out from her thoughts. He…." I trailed off, unable to finish my sentence. I could feel the bruises from his hold around my upper arms. I started to cry, and Aro let me rest my head on his shoulder whilst I cried myself out.

"It's going to be alright, Isabella," he hushed me, his hand stroking up and down my back soothingly.

"If I hadn't been so selfish, so uncaring, I wouldn't have hurt him so much. It's all my fault," I sniffled, hugging myself into a ball, over the rise of my swollen stomach. I could feel Aro shake his head.

"No, Isabella. You're not in the wrong here," Aro murmured.

"I destroyed everything. I have nothing left now," I whispered to myself. I couldn't go home, to Charlie, and see the disappointment on his face, yet alone with a half-human child in my womb. I'd destroyed everything, and I had nothing left.

"Oh, Isabella, I'm going to take very good care of you. Everything is going to be fine," Aro exhaled on a sigh, his words both chilling and warming me to the core. On the one hand, the thought that maybe I had something left to salvage out of this mess was comforting, that I could stop worrying and just let myself be taken care of, but on the other hand, I guessed what he meant. I was carrying probably the first half-human/vampire hybrid in existence. I'd read about them, of course, when I'd found that website, Vampires A-Z, but I had dismissed them as fanciful tales. Now they were coming true, and to Aro I was nothing more than a possession. A fascinating experiment, nothing more.

Tears pricked my eyes again.

My baby moved again, and I winced. It felt like he was getting bigger already. Aro glanced down, his hand splayed over my abdomen.

"They're certainly an active pair of infants," he commented off-handedly. My head shot up at his words.

"Pair of infants?" I asked, my mind spinning. Aro looked at me oddly, like he worried I was turning into an idiot.

"Isabella, you're carrying twins. There are only three heartbeats on this plane," he explained, as my mouth slowly gaped open.

Three heartbeats: mine, and my two babies'.

"Oh….My….God," I muttered, stunned. I was carrying twins! Happiness spread through me, dissipating the storm clouds of my sorrow, and I smiled. Aro returned it, cheerful again, and pressed a kiss to my forehead. I relaxed against his chest once more, my head lying on it, my hand splayed over the spot where his heart had once beaten.

"How did you find me?" I asked, enjoying the feel of him beneath me, his strength surrounding me, keeping me, keeping our children safe. I was having twins!

"Jane, Felix and Demetri were still over in America, finishing their cleanup. I'd flown back to Italy a few days after I last saw you. Yesterday evening I received a telephone call from an anonymous caller, telling me about your pregnancy and that the Cullens had abandoned you. I ordered Demetri, Jane and Felix to find you and keep you safe, whilst I took our private plane to Seattle. They found you just in time," he seemed to shudder, and I frowned.

"Wait…you got the telephone call yesterday evening? How long was I out?" I asked. I remembered being found by the Volturi, and then passing out, but I didn't recall anything else beyond waking up in Aro's arms here and now.

"Isabella, you were unconscious for twelve hours. I almost thought you had gone into a coma when my guard brought you to me," he replied.

"I wonder who the caller was," I murmured, but Aro remained silent.

* * *

At that moment the right-hand door opened and Felix walked in, followed by Jane in their dark cloaks, covering their attire. Jane wore a lacy black dress, slightly old-fashioned, and patent shoes. Felix had his trademark grey overcoat and black suit on, their Volturi pendants shining. Their eyes were downcast, not looking at me, but I sensed Jane's consternation and jealousy at how close I was to Aro.

"What news?" Aro inquired, not letting go of me, but sitting up slightly so his back was against the headboard of the bed, moving me with him.

"We are about to touch down in Florence, master," Felix bowed his head. Aro nodded, waving them away. Once again I felt my little nudger, or rather nudgers, kick again, and this time I couldn't keep in the gasp of pain as my breath hitched.

All three vampires' eyes flew to me, and I squirmed slightly, as I readjusted my position against Aro, trying to get comfortable again. Finally, scowling fiercely, Jane stepped forward.

"Master, what shall we do about the Cullens?" she asked, her eyes darting to me and back again. I froze, dread filling me.

Aro opened his mouth-

"No. Leave them out of this," I spoke up, emboldened by the need to protect those I still loved. I turned my head to look Aro in the eye, begging him with my eyes. "Please, Aro. Leave them be,"

Aro stared hard at me, as if by simply looking into my eyes, he could see through whatever mental barrier kept him out and find out what was in my mind. Finally he spoke.

"You heard the lady, Jane. Leave the Cullens alone. Inform me when we're about to land," he said, dismissing them with a wave of his hand. Jane sent me one last loathing look, before she left the cabin with Felix.

I struggled to hide my yawn, as sleepiness began to overtake me again. Aro was not fooled.

"Sleep, Isabella. Recover your strength; you're going to need it," he murmured against my ear.

"I'm not tired," I muttered rebelliously. He sighed exasperatedly.

"You are going to be a difficult one, aren't you, Isabella? I'll wake you when we land," he said, his tone indicating the conversation was at an end. I humphed, and settled myself into his side, warm despite his cold touch.

His hand on my back was soothing, hypnotic. I was oh so comfortable, my feverish skin cooled, my babies still for a moment. Maybe closing my eyes for a few minutes wouldn't be such a bad idea.

Yeah, just for a few minutes.


	5. Bad News

Italians Do It Better

* * *

August 20th, 2009

Forks' Gazette

Swan Suicide?

On the evening of August 19th, Isabella Marie Swan was declared missing, after she disappeared from the La Push reservation. It is feared she has committed suicide, but her body has not been recovered.

Isabella, who had been engaged to Edward Masen Cullen, was said to have exhibited no signs of suicidal or depressive behaviour, but little evidence points to anything else. As far as was known, Isabella had no enemies, but her disappearance remains a mystery.

Police found Isabella's truck parked on a remote part of the La Push reservation. Later her engagement ring was found on top of the cliffs, which teenagers from the reservation are reputed to use for diving. A pool of what is suspected to be Isabella's blood was also found, but this has yet to be verified.

Isabella's father, Charlie Swan, chief of police, has not given up hope that his daughter may be still alive, but was unavailable for comment.

Edward Cullen also refused to comment on the loss, a stance mirrored by the rest of his family.

Isabella's close friend, Jessica Stanley, told your reporter this: "Bella was a sweet, unselfish person who had everything to live for. She was going to Dartmouth in the fall. I don't understand why she committed suicide, but we'll always miss her."

There has been no suspicion of murder, although it is still early days yet.

This is the second of teenage disappearances within the space of a month. Jacob Black, 17, a resident of the La Push reservation also disappeared last month without a trace. The two were said to be close friends.


	6. Aro: Bring Me To Life

Italians Do It Better

* * *

_How can you see into my eyes, like open doors?_

_Bringing new doubt into my core, where it becomes so loud,_

_Without a soul, my spirit sleeping somewhere cold,_

_Wake me up inside_

_(I can't wake up)_

_Wake me up inside_

_(I can't wake up)_

_Call my name and save me from the dark,_

_Bid my blood to run, before I come undone,_

_Save me from the nothing I've become._

_Excerpts from Bring Me To Life, by Evanescence_

* * *

"I will take very good care of you, Isabella. You will never be alone," I whispered, as the fragile mortal in my arms fell into slumber. She curled into my side, her hand placed over the empty space where my heart had long ago ceased to beat, and I felt the gentle double kick of our children against my hip.

_Our children_

The thought was as fascinating and enthralling as it had been when my informant in Washington had told me of the fact. Not that I would tell young Bella this; she didn't need to know that I had been keeping tabs on her welfare. At the thought, I glanced down on the young mortal sleeping so trustingly in my embrace. She was so fragile, and yet so strong within.

With her, my world was one of sensation.

The feel of her satin smooth hair, like nothing I had ever encountered.

The scent of her blood, like the sweetest nectar, or the ruby-red wines of my human youth, in distant Bukovina.

Her iridescent brown eyes, filled with flecks of emerald green and deep gold that flashed with whatever emotion she felt. They were the only windows into her shrouded soul, for me.

The fact I could touch her soft, warm skin, and not suffer under an onslaught of thought and memory was a novel one. I could not deny the satisfaction and power my gift brought me, but sometimes it became only a burden. If her mental shield followed her into immortality, her gifts would make for an intriguing immortal.

She was so soft, so warm, so…perfect.

Hers was a beauty, that whilst so human and vulnerable, would never fade, but deserved to be enhanced. Frozen like a rose, forever.

My mind left her, as I felt again the nudge of the twins she carried. Bella let out a small moan in her sleep, and I soothingly stroked her hair, as she settled back into sleep.

I could feel their double heartbeats, like fluttering hummingbirds, fast and light. I pondered what form of life we had created, and if so, how could I ensure Bella's survival?

Oh yes, I wasn't going to let her die, not with her gifts and the prize she was going to give me. I wasn't blind to her attraction either, it would be me and me alone that would take her blood, and her mortality from her.

She would be mine.

* * *

Caius, of course, would be furious. My brother had wanted her dead from the moment he saw her. His derisive dismissal of the girl's talents had irked me at the time. As for Sulpicia…

My mate and I had drifted apart for several centuries now. My love for her had dimmed with the passage of time, as had hers for me. Her mind was so depressingly clear; all Sulpicia truly cared for was power. She had none of her own, so she clung onto the tiny amount I allowed her as my wife.

If she became troublesome, which I knew she would, she could be easily disposed of.

I would allow nothing to harm my Bella, nor the precious lives she carried.

The thought brought back the conundrum of what the next few weeks would bring. On the flight to America, I had researched the legends of vampires across the world, searching desperately for anything that would signify what would happen to Bella during the course of the pregnancy. What I had read had chilled me.

It seemed likely Bella would not survive this pregnancy. Not if the legends were true, and all legends have a basis in fact, no matter how distorted they have become by the passage of time.

Which meant she would have to be turned once the children were born.

But when? It was evident neither Bella, nor the twins, were ready yet. I doubted this would be like a regular human pregnancy, with the messy birth at the culmination.

I had felt how…..hard her small lump was beneath her smooth skin, like my own skin. Not to mention the fact that the twins were strangely well-developed for their age. She could not have been pregnant more than a week, and yet her body seemed to be mid- first trimester for a human female. It was mystifying.

* * *

Bella shifted in my arms, murmuring incoherently, and I unconsciously tightened my hold until she relaxed once more. My mind drifted back to her, and the images I had seen in my mind when Demetri had reported back to me.

The image of her cold and pale, shrunken, bowed over her own misery. Edward was a fool. I would have taken what was mine anyway, but the fact he had just let her walk away…it stirred an anger, a violent rage; I had not felt for centuries. He may not have abandoned her, exactly, in the physical sense, but he had in the emotional. And the pain I felt at the thought of her suffering was surprising.

I tasted it on my tongue, like poison, slipping into my deadened veins, infusing my mind. I inhaled, the perfume of Bella's blood rising to taunt me. It was easy enough to resist, since I would feed soon enough, but…

What was it about this girl that drew me inexorably, like a moth to the flame? What was it about her that defied every preconception I had ever had about humans?

She stirred memories, long buried and forgotten behind a dim veil, of my human life. It was unsettling, for her to have that power over me, and it was one I would ensure she would remain oblivious of.

I could not afford that weakness.

But just thinking about her sent me into a daydream of possibilities. I saw her, as I had seen her long ago in Alice Cullen's mind, as a vampire, beautiful, terrible, crimson-eyed and deadly.

Except this time, she sat by my side, mine forever, a partner and a leader with me, in our eternal pursuit of order and power.

I could feel a smile lift my lips. A human might have described it as predatory; I didn't care. Oh yes, that was a future I would seize with both hands. I wanted it even more than I had wanted Alice and Edward. They were nothing to that vision, and it was one I would ensure came true.

At that moment, Felix glided back into the cabin, and I knew with one look outside, past the shields, that we were about to land. I inclined my head, as the vampire left. To be honest, I was often surprised by how graceful the vampire was for his size and bulk.

* * *

The plane's height declined rapidly, until I felt the first bump of the wheels against the tarmac. We rolled to a stop, and I reluctantly prepared to wake Isabella up.

"Isabella?" I gently shook her shoulder. She stirred blearily.

"What is it?" she asked, lifting her head to look me in the eye. I caught my breath; she looked deliciously tumbled after rest, her lids heavy with dreams and sleep, her glorious brunette hair tousled, her delicate lips reddened and parted.

Without thinking, without even trying to resist, I bent my head down and kissed her full on the lips. She responded uncertainly, slowly, as her body awoke to my touch. I felt her heartbeat begin to race, her pulse pounding through her body. She was so beautiful, and she was mine. Today would be the first day of our forever.

I was obsessed, fascinated, challenged, enthralled and I wasn't going to give up until that image in my mind had become reality.

* * *

Bella began to kiss me harder, her hand sliding up my neck to tangle with my hair. She seemed to love messing my smoothly styled hair up; it was quite endearing really. I shuddered at the feel of her fingers in my hair. Never had touch felt so profound, so exhilarating. How I would make it through the coming months without taking her, I didn't know, although the logical part of my brain asserted it would be dangerous for her and the twins.

Another part didn't care.

It was the animal within us all, that slept in human form, given freedom in vampires, that demanded her even now. She was life to me, and I had to fight to keep that lust back.

Our tongues entwined, and I had to fight back my groan. No need to give her any idea of the power she held over me. I kissed her deeply, taking control, before reluctantly easing back, leaving the warm, tempting haven of her mouth. She looked up at me, flushed, eyes glittering with lust, her breathing erratic.

"Come, my dear. Our car is waiting to take us back to Volterra," I murmured, by way of explanation, as I lifted her easily. She clung to my neck, as I walked down the plan steps, flanked by Jane and Felix, and to the blacked out limousine that awaited us.


	7. Aro: Family Rifts

Italians Do It Better

* * *

Bella fell asleep once more in the limousine, her head cradled on my lap as I stroked her hair. I couldn't get enough of that feeling, of the tactile sensations I felt from touching her. I kept my other hand on her stomach, enjoying the buzz of our children's heartbeats against my palm.

I leaned my head back against the headrest, and sighed. I felt…content. It was an odd sensation, one I didn't know if I liked or found unnerving. To distract myself I looked out the window at the passing countryside. This landscape was as familiar to me as my own face. The landscape I'd been forced to adopt as my own, all those centuries ago, when I'd been dragged from my people, from my beloved homeland. When I'd become a slave, my noble birthright was taken from me, along with everything I loved.

I was 35 years old.

I had been changed a bare year later, and so with the shackles of slavery cast off, I had built my own empire and gained my revenge.

Dragging my head out of the past, I refocused on the countryside flashing past. The landscape was beginning to rise, as hills punctured the fertile land, and walled towns passed us by. At last we reached the nearest of them, as we began to climb, and my mood rose at the sight of the ancient sienna walls and proud towers of Volterra rising from the peak of the hill. My city, my Volterra.

* * *

At that moment, Bella chose to stir, and she sat up, blinking.

"We're nearly home," I said quietly, my eyes on her profile as she stared out of the window. She looked….nervous, but with a tinge of wonder as she watched our approach. "Frightened?"

Her head snapped around, her jaw tightening. "Not really," she snapped brusquely.

Not particularly moved by her poor mood, I ignored the outburst and continued to watch her as she resumed staring out the window. She'd been here before, yet it seemed as if she looked at everything with fresh eyes. I would guess that my scrutiny unnerved her, because she reddened slightly under my gaze, her blood pooling beneath the skin of her cheeks, as she turned to face me

"Last time I was here, I wasn't exactly in the mood for sightseeing," she murmured in explanation, her hand gesturing to the exquisite countryside passing us by. We were getting closer to Volterra now, the roads becoming slightly congested as the early evening traffic left the city, and others returned to their home.

"Ahh…yes," I replied, sensing her reluctance to discuss her previous reason for coming to my city. I would not willingly cause her pain by bringing up the subject of Edward Cullen.

I continued to watch her, and she continued to grow redder and redder under my gaze. It made her even more difficult to resist; she exerted a hypnotic pull over my senses. And my desires.

I reached out a hand, and pulled Bella into my lap, astride my hips. She blinked at her sudden change in position, but I could already feel her racing heart. I smirked up at her, seeing the suspicion in her eyes, warring with desire.

"There's no need to be frightened, Isabella. I will protect you," I murmured, inhaling her exotic scent. Bella's eyes narrowed even further.

"Will you please stop calling me 'Isabella' all the time? It's just Bella," she seemed to growl out. I nearly chuckled at her non-fear of me. I could snap her neck, but that didn't even enter her mind. She truly was unique.

"What is it you teenagers love to say? Ah yes, how about no?" I replied, one eyebrow cocked. I preferred Isabella to Bella, it sounded more….sensual.

"Don't ever say that again!" Bella groaned, closing her eyes and frowning. "Coming from you it just sounds wrong!"

And with that, she framed my face and kissed me. Slightly stunned, I let her kiss me, remaining passive for a moment, before my addiction flared up, and I pulled her deeper into my arms. She broke from my lips, breathing shakily.

"You're infuriating, y'know that?" she breathed, her eyes fixed on my lips, her own temptingly red and full.

"I aim to please," I murmured. I kissed her again, my hand going to the nape of her neck, holding her to me. She opened her mouth for me, and I gladly took advantage. She was so warm, so needy, so desperate as she writhed in my hold, my hands following the familiar contours of her body.

She moaned into my mouth, and the sound, so indicative of need, shredded any control I might have had. All my concerns for her welfare disappeared, as I shifted so we were lying on the limousine seat, me atop her.

I almost felt sorry for Demetri and Felix sitting in the front seat.

Bella writhed beneath me as I took her, claimed her, her fingernails digging into the material of my suit jacket, digging into my back. If she'd been a vampire, she would have torn my skin by now. Both her muscles and mine were held by a torturous, yet delicious tension, so intense I could almost taste it. I drowned her cry of release in my mouth, as she tumbled over that crest of pleasure I had known and experienced for nearly two thousand years. My own came soon enough, and I rested my head on her chest as we both recovered our breathing.

* * *

Soon we were driving through the city, towards the tunnel entrance to the Volturi estate, and I lay with Bella cradled in my arms, both of us satiated, me to a lesser extent. It was always the same with vampires; we could never be sated entirely. There were never enough hours in a day for us to fulfil the longing we felt for our mates.

Wait, is that what I considered Bella? My mate?

Was that what this possessive need was? The instinctive impulse to claim my mate, my true mate, so much more potent in a vampire than it was in a human.

Driving away that errant thought, I mused on nothings as I stroked my Bella's back soothingly. She needed some new clothes; I wouldn't allow her to walk around like this for much longer. But I knew from Alice Cullen's mind how stubborn and opposed Bella was to retailing. I would have to persuade Heidi, or possibly Gianna.

Decided, I thought on some more pressing issues. Like how to deal with Caius and Marcus. My third brother would be no trouble; Chelsea saw to that, but Caius was unpredictable. Even with my ability, I couldn't be sure of his reaction.

Whatever it would be, I would protect Bella. She was mine now.

A shadow fell over my face as I stepped from the limousine, the cool dark of our underground world a welcome relief from the sunlight. Gianna, our human secretary and Alec awaited us atop the front steps, as I handed Bella from the car.

Alec stepped forward to greet his twin. I wasn't blind to the look of loathing Jane sent Bella's way, before she touched cheeks with her brother. Hmmm, I would have to keep an eye on her. Alec raised his head, and inclined his head to me and Bella, standing nervously by my side. She was more afraid than she would ever admit.

"Master, Master Caius said he wished to see you as soon as you returned," he told me, a slight grimace hanging around his lips. I chuckled.

"I bet he would," I muttered, more to myself than anyone else. Alec stretched out his hand and I took it, closing my eyes.

The image of Caius's indignant, rage-filled face was enough to have me in fits of laughter.

Instead I kept my face smooth; blank, as I retreated from Alec's mind. I pursed my lips; I would prefer to have Bella out of the way for this confrontation.

"Gianna, would you escort Bella to my rooms? Make sure she is comfortable," I said, handing her over to the capable young human. She smiled, nodding once, as she led Bella away, chatting to her in a low voice, easing her nervousness. Bella shot me one last look over her shoulder before she disappeared inside with Gianna.

It was a pity that Gianna would have to go soon.

"Felix," I said quietly. Instantly my strongest guard was by my side. "Alec,"

Alec immediately followed him. I watched them carefully as I spoke. "Watch over Bella. I wouldn't want anything to happen to her,"

"Yes, Master," they bowed their heads, before they disappeared, flitting away in an instant.

"Jane?" I gestured to my favourite, as we disappeared inside, to follow me, to beard the lion.

* * *

My footsteps rang on the marble floor as I entered the hall, the high vaulted ceiling shining with the last light of the sun, as it fell beneath the horizon. My skin dimly glimmered, as I approached the three thrones where I sat with my brothers. Marcus was absent, but Caius stood by his throne, dressed in his usual dark suit and red scarf. Really the accessory was ridiculous; vampires did not get cold.

"Brother," I nodded to him, as he opened his mouth.

"Aro, what were you thinking?" he murmured, his anger already spilling over into his tone. I sighed; I knew all those centuries ago when I'd turned him, he was volatile but it was tiring after a while.

"To what are you referring, dear brother?" I asked coolly. Moving fast, I grabbed his wrist, so his mind was open to mine.

_I'm referring to the monstrosity you've created with that witless mortal. You've broken your own laws, Aro!_

"You are wrong, brother. We have not been exposed, since Isabella has always known of our existence. She will give birth, and she will join us, that much is certain," I replied, raising one eyebrow.

Caius glared at me, his red eyes boring into mine, his thought as clear and as vivid as poison.

_Aro this…abomination shouldn't exist. We should stamp out this aberration now, lest we end up with another disaster like the immortal children._

I shoved his hand away from me, my eyes narrowed to slits.

"Beware, Caius. I will not tolerate such thoughts from you. As it is, we shall find out soon enough if the children will be a threat, and they can be dealt with then," I replied smoothly.

I could feel Caius's anger mount further, as he turned from me in disgust, sitting on his throne, and regarding me haughtily.

"Why would you stoop so low, Aro? She is nothing but cattle, and yet you…" Caius shook his head, as I sat also, crossing one of my legs behind the other and placing my hands on the armrests. "Why when you have Sulpicia? Why betray her?"

"Do not delude yourself, Caius. You cannot understand, because you will not. As for Sulpicia, you know as well as I, that that harpy will care nothing for my….betrayal. All she cares for is power," I dismissed his argument with a wave of my hand.

At that moment Chelsea, and her mate Afton, entered the room, their heads bowed in deference.

"Master, the representatives from the Russian coven are here," Chelsea said, her ringing voice echoing in the vaulted hall, dissipating the tension in the room.

"Excellent! Show them in," I clapped my hands together, smiling genially as Afton left the room, Caius sullen beside me.

When I slipped from the meeting room, I breathed a sigh of relief. How I hated having to sit there and listen to the Russians' whining. They were having trouble with a rogue vampire, and required assistance. I snorted derisively to myself.

If they were so incompetent that they couldn't even get rid of one rogue vampire, they didn't deserve immortality.

Despite this, it would be good for us to hold them in our debt. It might come in useful in future.

I inhaled deeply, searching for that scent I knew so well. I could hear her heartbeat, and the heartbeats of our twins.

Her scent came, honey and nectar, milk and ambrosia. I opened my eyes and smiled as I followed her trail.

* * *

I'd ensconced Bella into my quarters, so as to better keep an eye on her. I could hear from the tempo of her breathing that she was asleep. I slipped in the door, and walked into the bedchamber.

Bella was immersed in the golden covers, her glorious hair tumbling over the pillows, just as it had done once before. I shut my eyes, flinching, from the wave of lust that memory evoked.

Her cheeks were rosy, her fever was high again. I could smell her sweat from where I stood, her heartbeat fast and jumpy. I frowned.

Something was wrong.

Gianna had been sitting by her side, keeping an eye on her, Felix and Demetri standing unobtrusively in the shadows. I moved forward, as Gianna sensed my presence and turned her head. I gestured to her and she stood and paced to my side.

"What's wrong?" I asked her. She shook her head, seemingly at a loss.

"I don't understand it. We just fed her and she can't seem to keep any food down. She brings it back up again," Gianna said, her brow puckered.

"Nothing?"

"Nothing. Not even a glass of water. Her body is rejecting everything," she replied promptly.

"Go. Return to your other duties," I murmured, addressing my remark to the others in the room. They disappeared like ghosts, melting away into the shadows, as I walked to stand by Bella's side. I stood by her side, and looked down on her.

She looked ill. How could she have sickened so fast when I only saw her a few hours ago? Was it the strain of carrying the twins?

Sighing, I sat down by her side, noticing that her top had ridden above the swell of her belly. A flash of black caught my eye, and I pulled the sheet down, horror filling me with each moment.

Her abdomen was a mass of black bruises, like a visible poison spreading across her skin. It must be the vampire half of the children; to exert such strength so early. They were growing quickly.

I took her hand, feeling her hot temperature beneath my cool skin.

There had to be a way. If this was kept up, Bella and the twins would starve to death in days.

I sat and thought for a long time. There had to be a way. I sat so long; evening had transferred to deep night, my mind oblivious to everything but the rise and fall of Bella's chest, and the erratic beat of her heart. She'd deteriorated so fast.

* * *

I was so engrossed; I didn't hear Sulpicia until she was standing beside me.

"Welcome home, husband," she said coldly. I inwardly bristled at her tone, as I stood to face her. My wife of one thousand, five hundred years, was tall, an exquisite beauty of rippling blonde hair and white skin. She was exotically shaped, clothed in clinging grey silk, but her charms had long since ceased to be alluring to me.

"Sulpicia," I inclined my head, my voice lower than a whisper. "I take it Athenodora is well?"

"Perfectly," she replied, scowling at me, before she turned her head to look down her nose at Bella. "So this is your little human whore."

My hand shot out of its own accord, it seemed, and caged her neck.

"Beware, Sulpicia. I will not tolerate your insulting her," I growled, my lips receding into a snarl.

"What is she to you but a mere breeding tool? An experiment to test the limits of your capabilities?" she snarled back, her crimson eyes overflowing with spite and jealousy.

"Oh, Sulpicia, you with your feeble mind, cannot understand the depth of my feelings for her. You never could feel, all you cared for was power. I was a fool to change you, when you were so unworthy," I smiled coldly, satisfied by the fiery anger that was burning in her mind.

"So is she to replace me? I will not let that insignificant human take what I have worked so hard to acquire!"

"Acquire? Sulpicia, you never acquired anything, I gave you everything. You are a weak, useless thing who feeds off others to survive in the world. Do not try to fool yourself," I let her go, shoving her away from me and Bella. I sat once again, taking Bella's hand in my own. It had cooled slightly, and I noticed her move slightly at my touch.

"I won't let that weak human upstart take you from me," Sulpicia growled from the floor, glaring at me. I shook my head, suddenly bored.

"Sulpicia, you lost me a long time ago. Several centuries ago, if I recall correctly, and you are nothing compared to Bella. She will surpass you as a vampire, and as my future wife. She is your superior in every way," I replied smoothly, taking spiteful pleasure in Sulpicia's angered features. "Now go,"

I half expected Sulpicia to stay and fight, and I did hear a low growl, before the sound of shushing silk reached my ears. I would have to keep an eye on her.

If I knew Sulpicia, she would have a plan up her sleeve to ensure Bella could not take her place.

The list of people to watch was growing by the hour. A long forgotten memory gleaned from Edward Cullen's head came back to me, as I leaned over Bella as she slept.

"You truly are a danger magnet, aren't you Bella?" I murmured, before gently brushing her lips with mine.


	8. A Grave Mistake

Italians Do It Better

* * *

A Bystander:

I watched as the crowd gathered around the open grave in Forks' Cemetery. We were come to celebrate the life and mourn the passing of Isabella Marie Swan.

She'd been pronounced dead, her body unrecovered. The currents around First Beach were unpredictable; many believed her body had been pulled out to sea.

Whatever, she was finally being buried.

It was a tiny thing really, the box they lowered into the earth before her tombstone.

It was an elegant thing, a beautiful angel guarding the plaque of marble and dark stone, engraved with the words: _Then love-devouring death do what he dare, it is enough I may call her mine_

It had been paid for by the Cullens, of course, who all stood around the mouth of the grave, Bella's father Charlie amongst them.

Carlisle Cullen's face was sad and solemn, his hand wrapped tightly around his wife, Esme's, who was softly sobbing into his shoulder. Rosalie Hale and Emmet Cullen stood beside them, staring down into the grave, one with a stoic expression, the other with a regretful one.

Alice Cullen, resplendent with her spiky hair and pixie features, hung onto the arm of her husband, Jasper Hale, who gently stroked her back.

And finally Edward Cullen. His face was burning, alive with agony, his fists clenched, as the priest began the service, and the box containing some items of Bella was buried.

It contained her engagement ring, a lock of hair, her copy of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and a braided bracelet, with a carved wooden wolf and a tiny heart-shaped diamond on it.

Edward fell to his knees, when the priest began his final words.

_Ashes to ashes, dust to dust…_

The cemetery bordered the forest, the beginning of the La Push reservation, and in the shadows, stood a tall, muscular man, with defined muscles and a tribal tattoo on his right arm. He was dressed in ragged shorts, his hair long and uncut. His eyes burned with tears as the box was lowered, and the service broke up. Trembling, he disappeared into the forest.

A moment later, a chilling howl sounded in the forest, mournful and heartbroken.


	9. Bella: Baby Talk

Italians Do It Better

* * *

I awoke held by cold arms, keeping my fever down. My skin felt extra-sensitised, I could feel everything a hundred times over.

The scrape of the silk covers over my skin.

The tensile strength in the arms that held me.

The pain racking every inch of my body.

I'd woken up each and every morning so far like this, for three weeks. My twins had grown exponentially in the last few weeks. Every time they moved, it felt like each muscle and bone was screaming in protest. I'd broken three ribs and my pelvis.

I hadn't eaten in two weeks.

My days were filled with pain and tedium, watched by Felix or Demetri, my only visitors Gianna or Aro. I was left to think in the moments when I could distract myself from the pain, and I thought. I thought about Edward, I thought about Alice. I dreamt of them nightly, and I knew I cried in my sleep. Aro was my only comfort, he was always there to hold me when I doubled over with agony, or I screamed in distress from nightmares.

He was always there. I was never truly alone.

I thought about my father a lot. What must he think of my disappearance? What had the Cullens told him? A tear swelled in my eye, as I thought about it, blurring my vision of the opposite wall. I let loose a weary sigh, feeling Aro's arms tighten around me.

Today would be a day like any other. One filled with pain and hunger and fear. Fear for my babies', what my inability to keep anything down must be doing to them.

Aro would beg me to eat, and I did try, I really did, but I couldn't. I would just throw it up again. This morning was a quiet one, waking up without having broken anything, warm but not too hot. It was almost impossible to do, with Aro's cold arms around me. He held me every night, even though I knew he must have other, better things to do.

I was just a fascinating experiment.

My mind drifted back to my meeting with Aro's wife, and Caius's, a few days after I had arrived in Volterra…..

* * *

_I moaned in pain as I felt my rib crack. I clenched my hands, holding onto the bed sheets, when I realised I had visitors in the darkened room. Two pale, fair-haired goddesses, gowned in blue and gold silk, looked down on me, one haughtily and with great dislike, the other with wonder and puzzlement._

"_She's an interesting one. I wonder what Aro has in mind for her," the nicer looking of the two said. She inhaled, and stepped back, her hands over her mouth and nose._

"_She won't last long. No doubt Aro will lose interest once his little experiment is over," the other replied dismissively. "Come, Athenodora,"_

_Athenodora looked down on me pityingly, smiling gently before she followed her sister. I heard their last words as they left._

"_She's too weak."_

"_Her blood is so…appetising," Athenodora said._

"_Hmm, there is that. Maybe when it is clear she cannot live, Aro will simply remove his precious hybrids and let us have her," the unknown female replied._

"_I don't think so, Sulpicia. I've seen the way he looks at her," Athenodora replied._

"_A mere passing fancy. She is no more than an experiment to him, I can assure you, sister," Sulpicia replied, before they passed out of my hearing_

_It was like I didn't even exist. Like I was a freakshow._

* * *

That memory had depressed me for days, when I realised it was true. How could I have been so blind, yet even though I knew the truth, I couldn't resist the comfort and affection he lavished on me.

This morning, I had to lie as still as I could whilst Demetri examined me. Apparently he had medical training.

I moaned and flinched under his hands, even though he was gentle. Aro was sat by my side, holding my hands. I focussed on his crimson eyes, finding strength in them. I hated myself for this, but I had grown dependent on him, not to mention my addiction had not abated. Some nights, when I was not screaming from nightmares, I awoke flushed and yearning from torturous fantasies, and I would look into Aro's eyes and see he knew.

Finally Demetri was done, his cold hands leaving my stomach, and he sighed as he straightened. I recoiled when I saw his eyes.

Coal black.

"If this keeps up, she'll need a blood transfusion," he remarked. "She's too weak, she needs nourishment."

"But how, when her body can't absorb anything?" Gianna asked him. I simply lay there, flinching when I felt the twins move again. Suddenly, Aro's head snapped around to me, his eyes narrowed.

"Blood….." he murmured.

"Master?" Demetri turned to his leader, his brow furrowed.

"Isabella needs nourishment, but her body can't absorb human food. But maybe…..why didn't I think of this before?" Aro leapt from the bed, excitement so palpable it seemed to emanate from him.

"Master?" Demetri asked again. I watched my lover as he pursed his lips, obviously thinking something through. Finally he snapped his fingers, a smile gracing his austere lips.

"Blood. The foetuses are half-vampire, so maybe we should start thinking about their needs in that light. We need to address their needs, before we can address Isabella's," he declared, his hands held wide.

I sighed. He still refused to call me Bella.

"So you're saying I need to drink blood, and it will help the twins?" I murmured, too weak to actually speak properly.

"It's worth trying," Demetri replied. He flitted from the room, as Aro returned to my side. Gently, trying not to cause me any pain, he rearranged me on the pillows, so I leant against his chest, his arms around me and our children. In that moment I could dream that he cared for me, that he didn't just see me as an experiment. That Sulpicia's words weren't true.

Suddenly Demetri was back by my side, in his hand a silver goblet, filled with liquid. I could smell it; rust and salt. It smelt like heaven.

Aro must have mistaken my shudder for disgust because, he held me tighter, whispering soothingly in my ear.

"Isabella, it's alright. You'll have to do this when you're a vampire anyway,"

I turned my head to look at him, frowning, surprised. Was he serious? Would he turn me? Or was he just saying that to give me hope so I would keep the twins alive?

"Isabella, drink," he took the goblet from Demetri who backed away, and held to my lips. Too weak to resist either way, I opened my lips, my hand rising tremblingly to take it by its finely wrought stem, as the blood touched my tongue.

* * *

It was heaven and salvation and desperate hunger.

I downed it in one gulp, and almost immediately I felt strength return. Aro chuckled, gesturing for Demetri to fetch more. This time he brought in an entire carafe, before bowing slightly and backing away. Aro smirked, sensing his discomfort.

"Go, Demetri. You obviously need to hunt," he said quietly, at which Demetri gratefully ran from the room. Gianna quietly got up and left the room, sending me a friendly smile. She was a nice girl, even though I couldn't quite bring myself to like her, after our first meeting almost a year previously. But was I any better?

Here I was, in a citadel filled with vampires, ignorant to the slaughter that was going on around me. The slaughter of human lives.

In that moment, I resolved that if I did become a vampire, I would not kill a human. I would be strong enough to resist, just as I had been preparing for the last year, since it had been decided that I would be turned.

* * *

"Drink, Isabella," Aro whispered in my ear. I didn't need telling twice.

I was onto my fifth glass, feeling some strength return to my limbs, when I felt a drop of blood fall onto the corner of my lip. Before I could even so much as move, I felt Aro's voice in my ear.

"Allow me, Isabella," he whispered, his husky voice sending shivers down my spine. A moment later, his cold lips touched the corner of my lips, his tongue licking up the stray droplet. I moaned, my eyes rolling back into my head, as I leant heavily into his body. Aro's hand rose to my cheek, turning my head, and our lips met.

His kiss was dark and seductive, as his hand gently untangled the goblet from my grasp, setting it on a side table, then that same hand returned to my hair, locking around the nape of my neck, pulling me close. I moaned into his mouth, yearning making every muscle in my body lock, as he kissed me deeply. It was almost as if he was drinking me in, determined to absorb me into his very body.

His free hand rose from the swell of my belly to my breast, caressing the soft, sore skin. I gasped, but then my pleasure turned to pain when the twins moved abruptly. Our kiss broke, although our lips remained close, my eyes staring into his. His searched mine concernedly.

"Isabella, are you alright?" he asked. Fighting away the pain, needing more of his kiss, his touch, I nodded once.

"Please…just kiss me again," I begged. I hated to sound so needy, so weak, but I couldn't hold back a moan of satisfaction when his lips captured mine again.

My entire body tingled, drowning out the pain, until Aro pulled back, stroking my lifeless hair back from my face. I must have looked a mess.

Looking into his eyes, I spoke without thinking.

"Did you mean what you said? About turning me?" I asked. He frowned, yet smilingly at the same time.

"Of course, my dear. Why wouldn't I turn the mother of my children?" he asked me, as if it was the stupidest question in the world. He leant his head in once more, but I spoke before our lips touched.

"But Sulpicia said…." I began, before Aro raised his head, and I saw the stony set of his features, the suspicion and the anger beginning to rise.

"How do you know Sulpicia?" he asked calmly, yet I sensed he was angry. I placed my hand on his cheek, and he leaned into my palm, turning his lips so they just grazed the skin. I shivered.

"Umm…."

"'Umm' is not a word, Isabella, nor is it an answer," Aro remarked, one eyebrow cocked. I narrowed my eyes, yet I recognised his playful tone when I heard it.

"Well maybe if you stopped distracting me by kissing me…." I murmured teasingly.

"Well, that can be remedied," he replied, moving away slowly, before I snatched him back. "Or not."

"Definitely not," I agreed, kissing his neck. The blood had done me good, even though I wanted more, I felt better. Aro tensed under my lips, and I raised my head to meet his eyes. He kissed me again, slower this time, but I sensed that same burning hunger I had felt the first time he had ever kissed me.

"Now what did Sulpicia say to you?" Aro asked, as soon as he raised his head.

"She didn't say it directly to me, per se, but I overheard her talking to Athenodora. She said I was nothing more than an experiment, that you would just let me die when you had the children out. Is that true?" I asked him, making sure I looked him the eye when I said this. I knew vampires could be good liars, but not Aro. Not to me, anyway.

Aro stared at me long and hard. My heart began to sink.

"No, Isabella. What Sulpicia said is not true. I will turn you when the time comes, Isabella. Rest assured of that," he finished stiltedly. I exhaled, his eyes steady on mine. I caught my breath again at his next words. "You're mine now, Isabella Swan, and I will never let you go."

Fear and desire rushed through me at this point, as he kissed me again. I shivered, my lids falling, as Aro's lips fell to my neck, caressing down it lazily.

"How could I want anything else after you, Isabella? So soft, so yielding yet so strong. So loving," he murmured in-between caresses. He was driving me crazy. My hands speared through his hair, but he straightened abruptly. "Not now, darling. You need to rest,"

Reluctantly, I **was** tired, I conceded to him. He gently lowered me down to the bed, kissing me deeply one last time.

"Rest, Isabella," he ordered me. I glared at him, I didn't like him ordering me around. Suddenly he cocked his head to the side, as if listening. A frown settled over his face as he listened.

"What is it?" I asked, taking one last sip of blood before I placed the half-empty goblet on the side, relaxing back into the pillows. I felt so much better, so much stronger.

"A problem that needs to be dealt with," he replied tersely, before his expression softened when he looked at my face. Suddenly his lips were pressed to mine, and I almost floundered under the force of his passion. It was over far too quickly for me, when he drew back and straightened, readjusting his shirt. "I'll be back, as soon as my attention is no longer needed,"

I don't what made me say it, but I did anyway.

"Hurry back," I whispered, already turning over carefully and closing my eyes. I felt his cold lips on my cheek, before he flitted from the room.

* * *

Later Gianna brought me some food, and this time the smell didn't turn my stomach. Full on blood, the solid food helped alleviate that empty feeling I had, as I feasted on omelette and mushrooms, washed down with, you guessed it, blood.

AB negative, as Felix joked from the corner of the room, as he watched me eat.

As my strength returned, I felt hope return. My twins grew in strength too, and they still caused me injuries, but I was no longer dying of starvation. I grew quickly, my stomach increasing in size from 30 centimetres to 34 in two days. I knew I had to be getting close to giving birth. I had to be.

Then one day, something momentous happened.

I had been lying in bed, reading a book whilst Aro lay beside me, his hands gently roaming my body through the silk pyjamas Gianna had brought me. It wasn't a sexual touch, but comforting.

There had been other clothes too, but I obviously couldn't fit into them yet. Alice would have had a field day. Abruptly, Aro had sat up.

"Did you say anything?" he asked me frowningly. I shook my head, confused, my heart pounding for some reason. Gently, he placed his hand on my stomach, and closed his eyes. I stared at him, confused. He couldn't see into my mind, so why….?

"What are you thinking now?" he asked me. I rolled my eyes at the command in his voice.

"I'm thinking what an idiot you're being. You know you can't see into my mind," I said archly. Aro sent me an arch look, before frowning in concentration again.

"What are you thinking now?" he asked again.

"What is this? Guess the thought game?" I muttered sarcastically.

"Isabella, just answer the question," he snapped. I set my jaw.

"Fine. I'm daydreaming about being strong enough to whack you around the head for being stupid without breaking my hand," I responded cheekily.

"You've certainly recovered your spleen," Aro murmured, before he sobered. "I can _hear_ them."

"What? You can _hear_ what the twins are thinking?" I sat up abruptly, almost jumping in the air. A fresh surge of pain sliced through me.

"Careful, Isabella. You startled them," he said soothingly, stroking my hair.

"What are they thinking?" I asked, breathless.

"One of them is thinking…..he _loves_ the sound of your voice," Aro replied, looking up at me in wonder. I stared at him, stunned. "I can't hear the other."

"What? Does that mean something's wrong?" I demanded, starting to feel slightly panicky and beginning to hyperventilate. Aro looked up, and shook his head.

"No. I can hear both heartbeats still, and they're as strong as a pack of lions. I think, Isabella, that one of our children has inherited your gift,"

I could only smile at him, a wide grin on my face, as he listened to the thoughts of our children, and told me what they were thinking.

"What do they, I mean he, sound like?" I asked him, my heart fluttering.

"His mind is like….it's more developed than anything I've felt before, in a child. His thoughts are actually coherent, it's fascinating," Aro said, looking up from my stomach, a huge boyish grin over his face. The sight warmed me.

That was the last time I was happy, for a long time.

* * *

I was asleep, one morning, Aro having left my side to deal with another situation, contentedly drifting between sleep and waking. My usual goblet of blood was on the side, waiting for me, and I had just decided to sit up when I heard the door open and close. I turned my head, and saw a figure glide through the gloom of my room.

Sulpicia.

She stopped before me, and smiled, a deadly, vulpine grin.

"I think it's time we had a little talk, don't you agree, little girl?"


	10. Bella: Red Eyed Monster

Italians Do It Better

* * *

I felt fear as Sulpicia walked towards my bed, my heart beginning to race.

What did she want?

"What do you want?" I asked, sitting up slowly. She was beautiful, that much I could see, with her porcelain features and golden ripples of hair, but there was something in the set of her mouth, and the glitter of her crimson eyes. I sensed there was a thin veneer of civility, a superficial glamour to her.

She was 100% predator.

Sulpicia halted by my side, her eyes on mine, her mouth twisted into a sneer.

"What do I want?" she cocked her head to the side. "Always the same inane questions. Humans truly are an unimaginative lot,"

"I asked you a question," I said, speaking a bit louder, hoping someone might hear me. Sulpicia smirked.

"You are a brave one, or just extremely foolish. Save your breath, little girl. He won't hear you," she said, one hand reaching out. I felt her cold touch on my throat, and I flinched away.

"I can see why he keeps you around. You smell…delicious, not to mention that you have some spirit. It's a pity really," Sulpicia continued. I frowned, my curiosity piqued.

"What do you mean?"

"Did you really expect that my husband would keep you? All he wants is the hybrids," she replied, her sneer dropping. "It's sad, really. Someone always suffers so Aro can get what he wants."

"Shut up. I trust Aro, I know he won't betray me," I replied, struggling not to listen to her.

"You know nothing, human!" Sulpicia snarled, suddenly shoving her face into mine, her teeth bared. "He murdered his own sister to get what he wanted, and you will be no different!"

"What are you talking about?" I asked, wondering where the hell she was going with this.

"Didyme. Didyme was Aro's sister, his blood relation. Ten years after he was changed, he changed her in the hopes she would possess a gift similar to his. She didn't, she possessed the gift of making people happy. She was useless to him, but that wasn't why he killed her. She and Marcus were married, until they began to become dissatisfied with Aro's machinations. They wished to leave, but naturally Aro found out. He didn't wish to let Marcus go, not with the power his gift gave the Volturi, and…." Sulpicia told me, a spiteful smile dawning.

"He killed her," I finished. I could feel the blood drain from my face, as I digested this information. My hand fell to my stomach.

* * *

"He will do the same, to you, to your children. Don't let him use you for his gain," Sulpicia added, her smile fading. Suddenly she just looked sad.

"I-I….." I didn't know what to say. Why hadn't Aro told me this? What did it mean? Did it change anything?

Tears began to leak out from behind my lids, as I closed my eyes.

"I can set you free from this, Bella. Aro will never let you go, but you don't have to let him win. There is one way left," Sulpicia whispered, and I felt the bed dip beside me as she sat down.

A familiar scent reached my nose; rust and salt, but something was wrong. There was a new element to it, a noxiously sweet flavour.

Poison.

"Just let go, Bella. Let go and save yourself all the pain and heartbreak I've had to endure for centuries," her words were like poison in themselves, sowing doubt in my mind.

Aro had killed his own sister to get what he wanted. What was to say he wouldn't do the same to me?

Could I even trust him again after this? His voice and his face had become my world, after I lost Edward and the Cullens because of my stupidity, but was that enough?

Did it matter that he had killed his sister, his own blood? Could I live with that?

I'd been willing to live with the fact Edward had killed people, why not Aro?

'_It isn't the same'_ a nasty little voice in the back of my head said. But maybe that didn't matter….

A memory of long ago returned.

"_And did that convince you?" his voice sounded barely interested. But his hands were clamped hard onto the steering wheel._

"_No. Nothing fit. Most of it was kind of silly. And then…" I stopped._

"_What?"_

"_I decided it didn't matter," I whispered._

"_It didn't matter?" his tone made me look up- I had finally broken through his carefully composed mask. His face was incredulous, with just a hint of the anger I'd feared._

"_No," I said softly. "It doesn't matter to me what you are."_

_A hard, mocking edge entered his voice. "You don't care if I'm a monster? If I'm not human?"_

"_No."_

And another….

"_Don't you see, Bella? It's one thing for me to make myself miserable, but a wholly other thing for you to be involved," he turned his anguished eyes to the road, his words flowing almost too fast for me to understand. "I don't want to hear that you feel that way." His voice was low and urgent. His words cut me. "It's wrong. It's not safe. I'm dangerous, Bella- please, grasp that,"_

"_No." I tried very hard not to look like a sulky child._

"_I'm serious," he growled._

"_So am I. I told you, it doesn't matter what you are. It's too late,"_

* * *

That was when I realised. It was too late. Aro may have killed Didyme, but that didn't mean I would commit suicide, killing my own children, just to escape him. I had always known he was power-hungry, but suddenly I knew that was just a part of him, and I wanted all of him. The good with the bad. I'd lost Edward; Aro was all I had left, and I would hold onto him with both hands. For me, for our children, for the future I so desperately wanted. For our eternity.

My eyes snapped open. "How stupid do you think I am?" I snapped, wiping my tears away. "You don't get it, do you Sulpicia? I don't care if he killed his sister. This is entirely different, and I won't kill myself or my children because you think he's going to use me. So thanks for the concern, but no thanks," I snapped scathingly, knocking away the goblet in her hands, so that blood spilled over the white bed sheets, and it clattered away from us. Ignoring Sulpicia's snarl, I looked beyond us, and met the eyes of my lover across the room, flanked by Felix and a vampire I didn't know.

"You stupid, foolish girl! I offered you an easy way out, so you wouldn't have to suffer any pain, but now….I will not allow you to destroy all I have worked so hard to attain, just because you can give him what I cannot," and with that she grabbed my throat, squeezing hard.

* * *

It all happened very quickly. All I heard was a series of growls and snarling, as Sulpicia was ripped off of me, and suddenly Aro was standing in front of me on the bed, and Sulpicia had been thrown back, held securely by Felix and the unknown vampire. Shakily I stood, my stomach making me slow, and took Aro's arm.

His face was contorted, and his eyes glowed crimson, his teeth bared in a snarl, every muscle in the arm under my hand clenched. Ready to fight,

In that second, I realised why Aro was so feared amongst vampires. There was more to him than met the eye.

"You took your time, didn't you?" I asked breathlessly, the wild look in his eye and on his face making my pulse race. Aro's eyes flickered to mine, and I saw the animalistic predator behind his civilised façade. I slid my hand down his arm, curling around his clenched fist. "It's alright, I'm fine. The twins are safe, she didn't hurt us. Come back to me," I laid my hand over his cheek, trying to turn his head to mine. His hand rose to my cheek, and I exhaled as he visibly calmed.

"You're unharmed?" he asked calmly. I nodded once, feeling our twins stretch inside me. It was gentle, not painful for once. I leant my head on his shoulder, as he turned back to Sulpicia. "As for you, Sulpicia, that is a state you will not occupy for long."

"You're pathetic, Aro. You've let one little human girl bring you down, after two thousand years. One little human whore," the blonde vampire struggled in Felix's grip, snarling and mad. Aro tensed.

"Don't!" I gasped, not wanting him to get angry.

"That insult will be avenged, but first…" Aro conceded, stepping forward. I refused to let go, moving with him.

Sulpicia was forced into a kneeling position, and Aro's hands rose as if to caress her face. His hands drifted down, to her neck, and I tensed, guessing what was going to come next. "Isabella is mine, and I will ensure you will never touch her again!" Aro said softly, and with a twist of his wrists, Sulpicia's head was severed from her body.

That was an image that would stay with me for a long time.


	11. Bella: Forgiving

Italians Do It Better

* * *

I couldn't take my eyes away from Sulpicia's twitching body, as her paralysed head was carted away with it, and Felix and the unknown vampire left the room. I felt my legs collapse from beneath me, Aro's hard arms snaking around my voluminous stomach. That hurt.

"Ow," I gasped, as he slowly lowered me to the bed. I gritted my teeth against the pain in my side, my breathing shallow.

"Did Sulpicia hurt you? The twins?" Aro asked concernedly, pulling the covers back over my body.

"The twins are fine," I muttered, as Aro sat down beside me, taking my chin in his cold fingers.

"And you, Isabella?" he asked, his red eyes boring into mine. Then it hit me, all that should have done after Sulpicia's little revelations. Horror, disgust and then I remembered my decision.

It didn't matter, but that didn't mean I was just going to let it go.

"You killed your sister," I whispered, keeping my eyes steady on his.

His jaw tightened slightly.

"Yes. I did," he said, enunciating every word clearly.

"Why did you never tell me?" I asked, raising my chin stubbornly.

"Because it belongs in the past. Can you not forget it?" he asked me in turn.

"How can you be so cold? How can you just brush it away under the rug? Your own sister?" I stared at him, my horror breaking to the surface. He didn't even try to deny it.

"It was necessary, Isabella. I have other issues to worry about, other things to put before myself or my family. Isabella," at this he moved to take my hand, but I snatched it away.

"Other issues?" I raised one eyebrow.

Aro sighed and stood.

"When I became a vampire, Isabella, I realised someone needed to regulate our world. It's true I wanted power, but I also wished to safeguard my world, to keep us safe. Unlike some, I knew that humanity would progress to the point where they could destroy us, and I wished to take steps to ensure they would forget us, and that vampires would stay in the shadows. My coven, Isabella, has kept the vampire world in darkness, protecting us and the humans from each other, but it hasn't always been like this," he sighed again, and looked down. I watched him, noticing the gradual change in his demeanour. The arrogance bled away slightly, leaving a tired man behind.

"Tell me," I whispered, not taking my eyes off of him.

"A few years after I was changed, I witnessed a massacre. One vampire on ten humans. I needn't say who won," Aro started. I shuddered. "He hadn't been very careful, and he had been discovered. The humans tried to take him down. Tried and failed,"

"What has this got to do with Didyme?" I asked, frowning.

"I began the Volturi to stop our exposure, to ensure order and obedience. Our ancestors would have destroyed us, without the coven's intervention, and we cannot afford to become weakened. For the good of our race," Aro finished. I frowned at him, trying to understand what he was telling me.

"Are you telling me you justify killing your own sister, because it would have exposed vampirekind?" I enunciated clearly, hardly believing my ears.

"She and Marcus were going to leave us, but Marcus was…is integral to my work. I couldn't allow him to leave us," Aro answered me.

"But your own sister, Aro! Your own flesh and blood? How can I trust you after this, when you didn't even think to tell me the truth?" I asked him, tears beginning to well. Maybe my sanity was returning, but I couldn't see him in the same light anymore. That light changed once more when he turned back to me, and I glimpsed another side to Aro.

He burned.

"I think of Didyme every day. She knew what I was going to do, the day I came to her room. Her face haunts me every day, in the moment I tore her life from her. I have never regretted any deed more, Bella," he came back to me, and knelt before me. I allowed him to tilt my chin up, so I could look into his eyes. My cheeks were wet with tears of betrayal.

"This is what it means to be a vampire, Bella. Death follows us everywhere," he murmured softly, pain in those crimson eyes. I blinked, fighting back tears.

"You called me Bella," I whispered. A small smile, and then nothing as he stood and began to walk away. "You didn't answer my question, Aro."

He didn't pause, his shoulders tensed, as he reached the door. Desperation filled me, and I couldn't hold back the shout that broke from my lips.

"Aro!"

He stopped, turning his head slightly, so he could see me from his periphery vision. But I couldn't see him.

"I'm sorry for not telling you about Didyme myself, Bella. You deserved to know that at least, after all I've put you through," he whispered, and then he was gone.

"Aro!" I called, hoping he would reappear. He didn't.

* * *

I lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling. What had I seen in his face, before he'd left me? Regret, sorrow, desperation, anger, arrogance?

Devotion?

Was that what I'd seen for one tiny moment?

As for the revelation of Didyme's death, it was like Aro had said. It was in the past now, and I couldn't allow this to separate us.

Call me crazy, but I didn't want to lose him.

A nudge against my stomach, gentle now, was a sharp reminder. _**We**_ didn't want to lose him.

But could I trust him? A part of me knew I couldn't but somehow that excited me. That constant layer of uncertainty flavoured my desire for him, making it headier, more intoxicating. Darker, more thrilling.

I was addicted to him, that much I knew. Edward had once told me I was his own personal brand of heroin. Jacob had once likened Edward to a drug.

If Jacob had been my sun, Edward my drug, then Aro was my personal brand of heroin. I couldn't go one day without yearning for his touch. I wouldn't give him up.

But could I live an eternity with him on my desire alone? If it was one thing Sulpicia had showed me, it was that even love can break after several centuries. Aro had loved her once.

How much longer could his desire for me linger? Or mine for him?

A memory of Aro's burning, desperate face rose to my mind's eye. Was it only desire?

I flopped back onto the pillows, sighing frustratedly. This was getting me nowhere. I thought I had seen devotion on his immortal face, and I needed to know if I could trust him with my life. With my children's lives.

And the only way I could do that was by looking into his eyes, seeing his face and reading the truth for myself.

* * *

Decided, I pulled the bedcovers back, and swung my legs out of bed.

"Legs, don't fail me now," I muttered, offering a prayer upwards just in case, as I set my feet on the ground. "Hold on kids."

I tentatively eased myself off the bed and onto my feet. Hmm, not too bad.

I stretched my arms, rolling my aching shoulders. Not too bad at all…

Being on my feet after so long in bed, felt so good. Placing one hand on the mahogany panels of Aro's rooms, after all I didn't want to fall and knowing me, I probably would; I slowly made my way across the bedroom, through the living area and out the door.

And I ran face first into a problem.

"Marcus!"

* * *

I held my hand to my racing heart, as I slumped against my bedroom door in front of the vampire. He stood before me, clothed in a suit of dark brown, covered by his black robes, dark hair hanging around his shoulders, pale skin glistening.

I'd had minimal contact with the two other leaders of the Volturi during my time in Volterra, but I liked Marcus a hell of a lot more than Caius.

He was flanked by Demetri and Felix.

"Bella, you should be in bed," Demetri said softly, his voice reasonable and friendly. I hadn't had much contact with the Volturi guard either, but Demetri was always pretty friendly to me. I hadn't forgotten he had saved me on the cliff top at La Push. Felix wasn't much of a conversationalist, apart from the odd joke about my human behaviour. Or the fact that I preferred AB positive blood to O negative.

"I can't, right now. Anyway I feel fine," I waved his concerns away. I looked to Marcus, standing quietly with the two vampires.

"Marcus, do you know where Aro is? I need to find him," I asked, calming my breathing down. Marcus regarded me through ancient, red eyes consideringly. "Please, I need to find him."

And for the first time ever, since I arrived in Volterra, I heard Marcus speak.

"Your bond with him is strong, as is his with you," he seemed to sigh wearily, yet his eyes held a spark of life in them, and intense sorrow. "I believe he is in the library,"

"Library, right," I nodded, then I stopped. "Where's the library?"

"Leave us," Marcus held up his hands to his two bodyguards. Bowing slightly at the waist, they disappeared into the shadows of the hallway.

I watched Marcus suspiciously, wondering what he wanted. Was he going to kill me too? Had Caius put him up to this?

"What do you want, Marcus?" I asked bluntly. That was me, queen of subtlety alright.

"Do not fear, young Bella. I am not come to kill you," Marcus assured me, still looking at me out of eyes filled with sadness. "I came to give you counsel, and to give you what you seek. I heard what Sulpicia tried to do to you."

I flinched. Did he know the truth about his wife's death?

"You know my power, Bella. I can see the strength of a bond between two people, and I also sense your confusion. The same confusion which plagues Aro, and his mind. When a mind like his is confused and torn, life for those who depend upon it becomes difficult. Aro is our guide, our leader, our soul. He began this coven and he is its true strength, the brains behind our physical power, but in you…you are like the missing component that Aro needs so desperately. Sulpicia failed to give him that, she could not, her talent was not for selflessness or compassion but in seeking power. He cares for you, deeply, Bella. So much so that I think he cannot yet admit it to himself, let alone to another, and I sense the same in you also," he explained, leaving me blinking. This was the longest amount of time I had ever heard him talk.

"I….." I was speechless. How could I respond to a speech like that?

"I will take you to him. Come," Marcus breathed, holding out his hand. I blinked at him, my eyes widening. Was he offering what I thought he was offering?

"Er….You sure about this?" I asked, my brain having gone blank. Marcus raised an eyebrow. "Fine, but I'm heavy. Don't blame me when you have a bad back tomorrow," I joked, trying to see if he would smile. Marcus swung me up into his arms, taking care not to jostle me too much. I winced slightly, my last cracked rib twingeing a little.

"I'm a vampire. We don't get 'bad backs'," Marcus replied blankly, yet I thought I detected a merest sliver of a smile.

That was a start.

* * *

Marcus and I flew through the Volturi's underground tunnels, until we left the base of the tower I had been living in, and entered another. We began to climb through hallways of golden stone and polished marble, candlelight allowing me to see where we were going, as we flitted past exquisite works of art and statues of Greek gods and goddesses. This wasn't like the modern minimalist upper levels I had seen when I'd come to save Edward, or the Renaissance-esque rooms I had been living in. This was the medieval bones of the Volturi castle, and I felt a sense of history settling into my bones. Like we were flying back in time.

Finally Marcus stopped outside a small wooden door, set back into the stone like a church door, bound with iron. He let me down and gestured into the room.

"He's in there," Marcus told me quietly. I nodded, suddenly nervous.

"What do I do?" I whispered, afraid. I didn't know what my heart was telling me, but all I knew was I needed to see him. I looked back at the ancient vampire beside me.

"What you feel is right. You are the first I have felt him come close to loving, since Didyme was taken from us. He loved her dearly," Marcus murmured, his eyes hidden as he lowered his head. I stared at him, then impulsively bent my head and kissed his cheek.

"Thanks, Marcus," I breathed against his cold skin, before I slipped in the door to the library.

* * *

The Volturi library was a cavernous chamber, made of the same white marble that their throne room was, but the walls were hidden from view by row upon row of mahogany book cases, gilded with pure gold. Antique volumes filled them, their spines bound with velvet and gold, their velour pages looking as ancient as if they'd been sat there thousands of years.

Close enough anyway.

It was incredible, and my idea of heaven. I loved reading, whether fiction or otherwise, and it had helped alleviate some of the boredom of being stuck in Aro's rooms 24/7.

But nowhere could I see the object of my search. I wandered through aisle after aisle of books, sometimes coming across little squares of clear space, where minimalist sofas the colour of a soft gold sat at odds with the Romanesque surrounds. Light drifted from somewhere, making my way visible, as I threaded through the library, like an interminable labyrinth of wood and velour, of knowledge and imagination.

But where was Aro?

At last, slightly breathless, I emerged from the forest of books, into a wide space, filled with those golden sofas, and I saw him.

He was standing and looking out of a window, his form highlighted by a nimbus of pure golden light. He looked beautiful, his sparkling skin only dimmed when the sun went behind a cloud outside. It had been the first time I'd seen the sun in almost a month.

"Aro," I breathed, my voice barely above a whisper, but I knew he would hear me. He didn't turn, as I walked forward, my breathing quickening.

"Bella you shouldn't be out of bed," Aro murmured, yet he still didn't turn to look at me. Ignoring his words, I walked forward confidently to his side, sliding my arm around his well-muscled one. It was as tense and as unbreakable as rock.

"Aro, please look at me," I begged him, whispering against his suit-covered shoulder. Finally he did, displacing my arm around his, his eyes closed off. Like twin shutters, keeping me out. Taking a deep breath, I focussed on his eyes, determined to ignore how being so close to him made me feel giddy, how watching the dim light reflect off his gleaming raven hair had my mind distracted, how the sight of his austere lips set my pulse racing.

Damn, too late.

Not thinking, I merely grabbed him, pulling myself against him, crushing my lips to his.

It was like kissing a statue, until he seemed to realise I was kissing him, and his hand rose to the nape of my neck, holding my head still, caressing my skin and hair, as he responded avidly. After a pleasant eternity, I drew back from his kiss, my head spinning, determined to get what I wanted to say out. Marcus's words had left a kind of courage in me, and I wasn't about to waste it.

"I wanted to say…" I started, but had to clear my throat. My voice was hoarse. "I wanted to say that you were right. What happened with Didyme…..it is in the past, where it belongs. What you did, even though I can't accept or approve of it, I understand you did it for the good of vampirekind. But I need to know this: can I trust you with my life, with our children's lives?" I finished, blushing heavily now. One cold hand cupped my cheek, as his red eyes softened, desire warring with something else, something that made me catch my breath.

"I promise you, Isabella Marie Swan, that I will do nothing but protect you, and our children, for the rest of eternity. You are my world now," he promised me solemnly. In the temple-like library, in the alcove of that arched window, it felt like a sacred vow, unbreakable. And looking into his eyes, seeing both light and dark, I saw the truth there.

"I'm going to miss that blush," Aro murmured, his eyes gazing steadily into mine, before our lips met again. His arms came around me, and I tried to get closer to him, but my stomach got in the way. My ribs burned, and I couldn't keep from crying out into his mouth.

"Bella, what is it?" Aro left my lips to ask, his brow furrowed. Blinking away tears, I shook my head.

"It's nothing. I'm fine," I gasped, waiting for the pain to die down. Aro sighed exasperatedly, leaning his forehead on mine.

"Bella, if I wasn't already dead, you would be the death of me. What's wrong?" he asked impatiently. Holding back a smile, I leant back against the wall.

"Just one of my ribs. It's nothing," I assured him. Just then the sun came from behind the clouds, and hit the library.

I gasped, my eyes entranced by the living jewel standing in front of me.

Aro's skin glimmered like diamonds, like the brightest gem caught in the light of a thousand suns. His skin threw rainbows of multifaceted light against the window, as I stared at him. Aro must have mistaken my gasp for one of fear, as he made to move away from the light.

"No, wait!" I grabbed his arm, and pulled him back, aware it was only because he allowed me to do so. Edward had never allowed me to touch his skin in sunlight, and now I placed my hands on Aro's neck, drifting down, as the skin of his perfect face and neck glistened. My eyes flicked up to his, keeping the contact, unblinking, as I slowly undid one shirt button and then another, giving him time to stop me if he so wished.

My heart was pounding the whole time, until I had revealed his muscular, marble chest and exposed it to the light. It was like standing in front of the sun itself. He was like a god, and he wore it well. And I realised why. Aro had never seen himself as a monster; he had accepted what he had become. As I had done with him.

I pressed my hand, palm down, to his chest, drawing it down over the cold stone of his skin, catching my breath as I watched my hand glide over the glittering skin. My heart raced, my lips throbbed, and I felt my limbs turn to mush, as I looked up into Aro's eyes. His eyes burned with red flames that threatened to devour me, if I would let them.

"You're beautiful," I murmured, a slight smile on my open lips. His eyes darted down to my lips, our chests rising and falling raggedly as he moved closer.

"You are one of the most unique human beings I've ever met, Bella," he murmured, before pulling me back into his arms and kissing me senseless.

He really didn't play fair.

I ran my hands through his hair, relishing the silken strands between my fingers, revelling in the feel of his stone chest against my skin. I wanted him so badly.

My blood raced through my veins, singing, as our kiss turned urgent, and I could literally feel the tension holding both our limbs, taste it on the tip of my tongue as my head began to whirl from lack of oxygen. I had to draw back, gasping for breath. Aro didn't stop, just kissed down my neck, and down, until he reached the sliver of skin revealed by the waistband of my pyjama trousers. He paused, looking up at me mischievously, before he pressed a tender kiss to my stomach, and I felt my heart leap, along with two small nudges in my abdomen.

"What are they thinking?" I asked, smiling mistily.

"One of them is very happy right now that his parents have stopped fighting," Aro replied promptly, grinning like a school boy.

* * *

Suddenly I felt my legs taken from beneath me as Aro swung me into his arms. "Come. You need to rest. How did you get all the way over here anyway?" he frowned at me.

"Marcus. He gave me a ride," I told him, struggling to fight back a smile at the memory. Aro stared at me, stunned.

"_Marcus_ brought you here?" he asked, his eyebrows rising. I nodded in answer. "Hmm. I knew he liked you."

"He was very helpful," I murmured, as Aro laid me down on one of the sofas. "Didn't you hear us coming?"

"I was…distracted," he replied, sitting down beside me. I smiled up at him, sighing at the feel of his hand as he placed it on my cheek. "I have something for you."

I had just started to close my eyes when I snapped them open. Uh oh.

"What?" I asked nervously. Aro chuckled to himself.

"Don't fear, Bella. I know of your reluctance to be given presents, and so this isn't so much of a present, than it belongs to you by right now," Aro told me, jokingly at first before he became solemn.

His hand curved under my back, helping me to sit up, as he shifted to sit on the sofa arm behind me, so I leaned against his leg.

"Close your eyes," Aro whispered in my ear. Sighing I did so.

A moment later, I felt something cold and heavy drape around my neck, before Aro's cold fingers clasped it.

"Open your eyes," my lover commanded a second later, and I did. I raised trembling fingers to my throat, and even though I couldn't see it, I knew what it was.

My fingers touched cold metal, probably gold or silver, in the shape of a 'V', what felt like an engraved crest supported by its arms, a tiny jewel above it. I knew that that jewel would be a tiny ruby.

It was the crest of the Volturi.

I didn't know what I felt as my eyes widened. Aro tilted my head back and up, so I looked into his eyes.

"It suits you," he murmured, brushing my lips with his.

Then I recognised what this strange, warm feeling I felt was. It was a sense of _belonging_.

I had lost the Cullens, the first family I'd ever known, then I had lost Charlie and Renee and Jake and Phil; but now I had Aro and my twins. And the Volturi.

I would never be alone anymore.

"Thank you," I murmured, as I pulled my lover down to me for a kiss.

* * *

An hour or so later, I lay on Aro's chest, in our bed, staring up at the ceiling, my necklace splayed on my chest.

"Aro, how are we going to get the children out? Something tells me I can't just give birth like with normal human babies," I asked, turning over slowly so I could look into his eyes.

"Well, I haven't been idle on that front, Bella," he started, stroking my hair soothingly. Uh oh, that wasn't good. "And the only safe way I can see would be to remove the twins from your womb by a….Caesarean section if you will,"

"A C-section?" I asked, frowning.

"It will involve one of us using our….natural talents to remove the twins. Obviously I would be on hand to turn you the moment the children were clear," he assured me, even while I suppressed a shiver at his words. Natural talents.

One of them would have to use their teeth to get my babies out.

"Are you sure this is the only way?" I asked, just to be sure. Aro looked at me, long and hard.

"Yes, it is. I'm sure you've felt how…hard your stomach feels, almost like our skin. I don't think using conventional human methods will work, Bella," he explained, and I had to concede that. Underneath my obviously still human skin, my uterus felt like it was made of stone. This was the only way.

"Alright. I trust you," I murmured, laying my head back down on his chest, drawing tiny circles on his suit jacket with the tips of my fingers. "How long do you think…?"

"Not long. In human pregnancies, most women are your size when they give birth, so I would guess soon. I think it would be dangerous to delay too long," he answered briskly. Suddenly his voice softened. "I now see what Edward saw in keeping you human. I regret our time together has been so short,"

"I'm not dying, Aro," I muttered, rolling my eyes, flinching at the sound of _his_ name. I could think it, but I couldn't say it out loud. Yet something was different than last time; _I_ was different. That hole in my chest hadn't been torn open again.

"No, but immortality is an entirely new existence, with new experiences mortality cannot offer. But mortality does have its advantages," he replied whilst kissing my forehead. My heartbeat sped up in response. "Like that. It was something Edward loved about you, you know."

I flinched again.

"You still feel uncomfortable using his name?" Aro asked. I searched for pain or anger in his words, but there was none, just gentle curiosity.

"Yeah, but it isn't as bad as last time. Before you came to find me, that last time, I'd had to choose between two men I loved. It was horrible, to destroy another person's life for my happiness, but I knew who I couldn't live without. When…" I took a deep breath, prepared for the pain I knew I would feel, "_Edward_ left me the first time, it felt like a huge hole had been punched through my chest. Whenever I thought about him, or the Cullens, or someone mentioned them, it would rip open and it felt like I would suffocate. That I would die."

"And now?" he asked quietly. I shifted so I could look up at him.

"Now…it doesn't feel like that. It hurts…so much, but this time I'm not alone. I have you," I murmured, kissing the hand that lay on my shoulder.

"Yes, you do. But as I am yours, Isabella, so are you mine," he whispered, and I rolled my eyes.

"Maybe," I muttered, teasingly. However that thought sent shivers of fear, uncertainty and desire through me.

We lapsed back into silence, content with the other's closeness, as I daydreamed, listening to the stillness of the castle.

"Have you thought about what you want to call the twins?" Aro asked. I looked up at him, surprised. He wanted to do the whole baby names thing?

"I thought Alicia, if we have a girl. Alicia Renee, how does that sound?" I mused, pursing my lips. I was nervous about what he would think.

"That sounds perfect. But what if we have a pair of boys, or two girls?" he asked me, stroking my shoulder.

"Well if we have two girls, then I think Rose sounds good."

"Isabella." Aro suddenly put in, and I nodded, sighing exasperatedly.

"Rose Isabella. But two boys, hmm…I think I would like to call one Charles Eduardo and the other Jacob…..umm….hang on, why don't you contribute something to this?" I asked abruptly, sitting up, so I faced him.

Aro sat thoughtfully for a moment. I'd been surprised he hadn't seen through my attempt to name at least one of our children after Alice or Edward. Of course, he didn't know about Jake.

Suddenly my mind jumped to him, and I wondered what had happened to him, as guilt swamped me. Was he even alive?

"Vladius," at the sound of Aro's voice I jumped, thrown back from my thoughts.

"What?

"Vladius. It was my human father's name," he murmured, as I stared at him. Edward had told me that for most vampires, their human lives become fuzzy, that most vampires' first memories are of the burning pain of the transformation. But Aro was not most vampires.

"Vladius," I murmured, trying it out on my tongue. It rolled off pretty smoothly. "Jacob Vladius. I like it," I smiled at Aro, putting all my weight on one hand, as I leant back.

"If we have one boy and one girl, we'll have to combine all of them," Aro said, his tone not altogether joking. I groaned.

"God that would be a mouthful. Charles Eduardo Vladius Jacob and Alicia Rose Isabella Renee…wait, what would their last name be?" I asked, laughingly.

"I don't know. I can't even remember my full human name, and besides, I came from a time when surnames weren't very common," he reminded me, smirking at me. "So it will have to be 'Swan'."

I tried it out, seeing if it felt right. It did, surprisingly.

"I think Charles Eduardo Vladius Jacob Swan and Alicia Rose Isabella Renee Swan sounds perfect," Aro remarked casually. He leaned down and kissed me, his hand gentle on my cheek. I sank into the embrace.

Suddenly his head jerked up, and he sighed heavily.

"What is it?" I asked, worriedly.

"Caius. He is demanding my presence to answer for my incapacitation of Sulpicia. Loudly," he added, wincing slightly.

"Sorry," I mumbled, smiling apologetically. I felt Aro's cold thumb brush across my lower lip, setting it on fire, as he tipped my head up and kissed me.

"Don't be so stupid, Bella. Sulpicia would have tried something eventually. I am only sorry I was not more careful. I should have known as soon you began to regain strength, that she would try to kill you," Aro said against my lips.

"What will you do with her?" I asked.

"She'll be executed, after you have become a vampire, and you're safe from any retribution. Jane was always very close to her, but I think she would not dare touch you, when her gift has no effect whatsoever upon you," Aro mused. I shuddered at the word 'executed'.

"Jane hates me," I murmured.

"Yes, she does. But when you are a vampire, you will be untouchable, besides Jane is too loyal to me, to risk my displeasure," Aro reassured me, as he stood to leave.

Settling back into my pillows, I reached a hand for my cup of blood on the side-

I was distantly aware of a strange tearing sound, coming from somewhere, oddly muffled and unclear, before a wave of pain blocked out my vision, snapping my nerves, turning my bones to molten flame as I collapsed.

"Bella!"

Cold arms caught me, before blackness took my sight, the pain too much for my human mind and body to take, as the movement within me exploded.

"Demetri, I need you!" a voice called, one that was familiar. I could barely make out anything above the roaring in my ears, the inaudible screams of pain that was my body convulsing.

I was lost.


	12. Bella: Burning, Waiting

Italians Do It Better

* * *

I returned to a dim parody of consciousness, every sensation nothing but pain for me.

The rush of cold air over my skin.

The ripping and tearing inside of me.

The noises slicing into my brain.

The harsh light searing my eyes.

"Demetri, hurry. The placenta may have detached!" a voice called.

I knew what that meant. My twins would die within me.

"Get them out. NOW!" I cried out, screaming from the pain of feeling my body torn apart, with blunt, molten knives of steel.

And then a new pain was added to the old, and I arched, before there came a snapping noise, and I slumped, my legs inanimate.

Hot liquid gushed over my body, bubbling up in my mouth, spilling over my lips, as I struggled not to choke, fighting to remain awake, not to slip down into the inviting darkness.

"Her spine's broken. She can't feel anything, just do it!" I heard someone shout angrily, and then a slicing pain reverberated through my entire body. "Felix, hold her!"

Hard, cold arms held my shoulders and chest, as I felt my body go numb.

Reality and death blurred together as one.

And then-

"Bella?"

That voice, it was so lovely, quiet and authoritative. It gave me strength, to focus through the pain, as I opened my eyes. I couldn't feel, or see properly, but I could hear, and that voice needed me to open my eyes.

"Bella, stay with me," that voice called to me, as if from a distance, before it left me. "Demetri hurry! Her heartbeat is weakening!"

"Hold on, Bells," another voice said. Dad? Felix?

I couldn't be sure anymore.

I slipped back into blackness, tiny spots of darkness blotting my hazy vision, as I began to succumb to the lethargy filling every atom of my being.

"Bella?" that beautiful voice again, as I levered my lids up, my breathing shallow and harsh. Suddenly everything was clear.

Aro stood there, covered in blood, two small shapes in his arms, as he leant down.

I raised my arms. "Please, let me…."

They were brought as close to me as possible, their warmth pressing against my arm. Their moist skin was scorching- as hot as a werewolf's. As hot as Jacob's.

Suddenly my vision had never been so perfect.

I raised one trembling hand, and laid it on their heads.

* * *

"Alicia….Ed….."

My son and daughter did not cry, but looked at me with eyes shining with intelligence, breathing shallowly, their twin expressions ones of shock.

Alicia's face was a perfect heart-shape, tapering to an oval chin, angelic, mesmerising. Her long black hair hung in matted curls around her shoulders, bloody and sweaty, her skin, beneath the blood, a pale ivory yet with the blush of human blood in her cheeks. She looked at me curiously through eyes of the deepest brown, chocolate, mine and Charlie's eyes. She was beautiful.

Charles Eduardo was a mix of me and Aro, with my brunette hair in deep, luscious waves that yet hung limp against his forehead, his skin a deeper shade of beige, warm and silky as he pressed his face to my cheek, his mouth smiling to reveal rows of perfect white teeth. But his eyes….his eyes were omniscient pools of shimmering silver, haunting and lovely. Aro's human eyes.

My children.

They were even more beautiful than their father, or their namesakes. Something I'd thought impossible.

"So…beautiful. Alicia….Ed…" I could only speak in gasps. They both smiled at me this time, as their father leant in.

"You were so strong, Bella. I'm proud of you," he murmured, before his lips brushed my sweaty, bloody forehead. "Heidi, Jane come here quickly. Watch over the twins; protect them with your immortal lives. Demetri, Felix accompany them,"

My children were taken from me.

* * *

What! No!

But I slumped back, my anchor to reality gone, before a cold hand returned to my skin.

"Soon, it'll all be over, dearest Bella. Immortality awaits," he whispered, before a new pain, nothing to the agony still sweeping through my nerves, shredded my skin. Weakness took me, as I felt what was left of my life drain from me. Then it stopped abruptly, to be replaced by agony so fiery, it consumed everything.

"Soon, Isabella, we will have eternity," he whispered in my ear, as I convulsed, that pain I had felt once before coursing through every cell.

It was too hot, I was burning, I was on fire, from my heart, to the very tips of my hands and feet.

Agony.

My world was one of waiting. Waiting for the pain to cease, waiting for the dawn to break. For my eternity to begin.

The flames burnt, so I could only be a charred remnant of a human being.

Still I waited, determined not to make a sound.

Consciousness and self-possession returned in trickles, although the pain did not abate, my heart thundering laboriously.

I became aware of sounds and smells, of gentle light that penetrated my closed eyelids.

Of a warm hand soothing the pain minutely.

Of a melodic voice distracting me from the pain.

Still I waited for the flames to die.

Hours. Days. Years. Centuries.

Any and all of these could have passed and I wouldn't have known anything about it. I writhed in the flames.

The pain receded from my toes first, trickling back from my fingers. My head cleared.

I could hear only four heartbeats close by. Two were as fast and light as a hummingbird's, whilst the other was slower, more laborious, indicative of blood being forced through tiny veins.

The last was slowing.

Suddenly the fire shot back to my heart, and I burned in agony fiercer than before. My heart became a supernova of pain and flame, as I arched, tensing my jaw against the screams that longed to be set free.

Thump…..thump…..thump…..thummmmp…thummmmmmp…thummmmppp…..

Then nothing.

* * *

The fire burnt away, and nothing remained.

Then I opened my eyes.


	13. Aro: Past The Point Of No Return

Italians Do It Better

* * *

_**Past the point of no return, no going back now;**_

_**Our passion play has now at last begun,**_

_**Past all thought of right or wrong, one final question**_

_**How long should we two wait before we're one?**_

_**When will the blood begin to race? **_

_**The sleeping bud burst into bloom? **_

_**When will the flames at last consume us?**_

_**Past the point of no return,**_

_**The final threshold,**_

_**The bridge is crossed, so stand and watch it burn.**_

_**We've passed the point of no return.**_

**Past The Point Of No Return**

**Phantom of the Opera**

* * *

I watched her burn.

She lay there, as Heidi and Chelsea wiped away the blood and sweat from the birth with a wet cloth, unmoving. Only the occasional twitch of her fingers and muscles, and the beat of her heart were signs that she was still alive. That she hadn't left us.

I knew she wouldn't. My Bella was strong, she had survived long enough to give our children life, and soon, she would reap her reward.

"Master?" at Jane's trilling voice, I turned my head. She stepped forward, out of the shadows. "Master Caius desires your presence."

"I am busy," I said, not taking my eyes off of Bella.

"Master-"

"I am busy! If Caius wishes to speak to me, he may come here," I snapped brusquely. Jane flinched visibly, and I instantly regretted my harshness. "Forgive my brusqueness, dear Jane."

The little vampire moved to stand by Bella's head, looking down at her face. She was clean now, and her beauty was beginning to break through, her skin already hard and colder now, her wounds healed.

"You truly care for her, do you not, Master?" she asked me, raising her crimson eyes to mine.

"I do. Jane I know you do not like her, but watch over Alicia and Charlie. Protect them, for us," I said gently. Jane bowed her head and walked away. I leant over Bella, and stroked her cooler forehead, whispering gentle words to her. I remembered the pain, all too well.

It was on the third day since the birth that I heard her heart begin to slow, and she arched suddenly, almost enough to snap her spine.

She would awaken soon.

* * *

"Felix?" I murmured, waiting for the appearance of the large vampire. He was at my side in moments.

"Master?"

"Have Jane and Heidi bring the twins here. Their mother will be awake soon," I ordered, calmly yet I could barely contain all the excitement I felt.

"But, Master….is it safe? Alicia and Charlie both have human blood running through their veins. Is it wise?" he asked. I smiled, turning my gaze back to my Bella.

"I have a feeling it shall be alright." I murmured. Bella may be a newborn, but I had seen in Alice Cullen's visions that she would be an extraordinarily controlled newborn. One of her many gifts to come.

I heard Felix move away, and the sound of approaching heartbeats.

"Caius. Marcus," I called, as I heard my brothers appear at my side.

Caius still wasn't talking to me.

"Not still dissatisfied, Caius? She is one of us now; any threat of exposure is eradicated," I muttered, mentally rolling my eyes. Unspeaking, Caius merely touched my hand with his, as I closed my eyes to his thoughts.

_Not satisfied, just resigned, brother mine. But you will go to the devil, in your own way, as you always have. _

"Marcus?" I asked, my voice barely louder than a whisper.

He stretched his hand out to mine. _Your bond with her has only strengthened. She will be a worthy addition to our coven._

_She might be a bit less moody and manipulative than Sulpicia at any rate_

That thought came from Caius. I chuckled.

* * *

At that moment, my daughter and son were carried into the room. Instantly I held my arms out, and took my daughter in my arms. Jane held Charlie close, as she moved beside me. The sounds of their heartbeats echoed in the room.

Alicia put her hand on my cheek, placing an image directly into my mind.

This was my daughter's gift. Now only could I not see into her mind, but she could place images into mine. Her gifts were a mixture of mine and Bella's, whereas Charlie had discovered a very…interesting power.

He was telekinetic.

* * *

I refocused on the image Alicia put into my mind. She didn't like speaking that much, but her way of communication was more than enough.

The image of Bella, blood-soaked and writhing in agony, as she had been the last time she had seen her. The question was clear.

"Soon, darling, soon." I murmured, as she leaned her small head on my shoulder. My daughter and son had grown so fast in the three days since they'd been born. They were almost like toddlers now.

Their skin was as hard as ours, as I'd experienced myself when Charlie had been unconsciously moving a knife around with his mind, and it had struck Alicia. They both had core temperatures far above the usual for humans, and their mental development was astonishing. I'd discovered that when, as one, Charlie and Alicia had asked, "Papa, where is Mamma?"

They were truly beautiful and unique. Remarkable. Just like their mother.

With a surge of excitement, I heard Bella's heartbeat slow for the last time.

Thump…..thump…..thump…..thummmmp…thummmmmmp…thummmmppp…..

Her heartbeat slowed and stopped, coming to a halt for the final time. It was the sound I had been waiting for, for three days, and it was one of the most beautiful things I'd ever heard.

Gently I handed Alicia to my shield, Renata, as I bent over Bella's forehead.

* * *

"Bella?" I called her name, putting my hand to her forehead. Her eyes shot open, and the crimson eyes of a predator looked into my own, the radiant colour of chocolate replaced by glimmering red orbs, like iridescent rubies. Her long brown hair was lustrous and hung in natural curls to her waist, where she hadn't cut it since her pregnancy.

Her skin was as pale and as hard as my own, the colour of ivory, her features smoothed and perfect now.

Heidi had dressed her in long black trousers, form fitting to her curves, and a simple blue cashmere sweater that had enough of a scooped neckline to showcase the glittering Volturi crest around her neck. She was perfect.

Her red eyes widened, and in a blur of speed that no-one expected, she flipped herself from the bed she was laid on, and landed on her feet, in a hunting crouch.

A tiny fraction of time passed, as she slowly but gracefully stood from her crouch, the predatory expression leaching away.

"Aro?" her voice was like a bell, clear and musical, even to my ears.

"I know it can be very disorientating, my dear," I said soothingly, as I moved forward, holding my hands out to her.

She nodded, inhaling for the first time. She winced, and I felt Felix and Demetri shift into position behind me, protecting the twins.

"Bella?" I asked cautiously. She closed her eyes, frowning, as she concentrated. I watched her, astounded. Her control was greater than even I anticipated.

"I'm alright. I'm in control," she whispered, opening her eyes again, as she moved into my arms. I held her close, burying my face in her slender neck, the scent of her sweet-smelling hair filling my nostrils. Her arms came around me, and I winced at her incredible strength.

"Sorry!" she cried out, letting me go and clasping her hands behind her back. I heard chuckles behind me, as I moved forward, wrapping my arm around her waist and pulling her against me.

"Felix, I think you have competition," I said over my shoulder jokingly. He growled playfully, and I even glimpsed a tiny smile ghosting over Caius's face, amongst the smirks and laughter.

Bella smiled, before her expression changed to one of yearning. "Please?" she whispered.

"Not just yet, Bella. You must be thirsty," I said as gently as I could. I gestured Afton forward, a goblet of human blood in his hands. The last of the bagged blood we'd procured for her pregnancy. "Here."

Bella snatched it from his hands. She paused. "Thanks," she muttered, before setting it to her lips.

We all stared at her, stunned anew. It seemed the thirst did not rule Bella as wholly as it would a newborn. It was incredible. It was fascinating.

She was fascinating.

She ended up downing the entire carafe, before she placed the goblet down, smoothing the front of her sweater.

* * *

"What?" she asked, looking up to find myself and the entire Guard, plus Caius and Marcus, staring at her in awe.

"Bella, there are two human heartbeats in this room, and yet you haven't even thought about attacking them yet. This is…incredible," I shook my head.

"Not really," Bella shrugged, always self-effacing.

"It's unnatural," Caius put in. I sighed, fighting for patience.

"Thanks for the compliment, Mr. Three thousand year old vampire," Bella shot back, rolling her eyes. Her stance clearly said: _Cos that's not unnatural at all, is it?_

I chuckled, before I gestured Demetri and Felix away, and for Jane and Renata to come forward. Bella's face lit up, her eyes burning with hunger, but not the hunger I feared to see. She did not want her children's' blood.

Just to be safe, I slipped in behind her, one arm around her waist, Felix and Demetri either side of me, as we moved forward. Bella held her arms out imperiously, as Alicia and Charlie both held their hands out for her. At a nod from me, Heidi and Renata gave the twins over, into Bella's arms.

She held them gently, tentatively, like she feared they would break.

"They're so beautiful," she murmured, as Alicia held out one hand to her cheek. A moment later she gasped, before she smiled, ignoring Demetri and Felix's nervous movements.

"What is she showing you?" I asked, putting one hand on Charlie's soft hair, so like his mother's.

"God, I was a mess," she muttered, and I chuckled, putting my arm around her shoulder. I kissed her rippling waves of hair, conscious of the others as they left us.

"You're beautiful," I corrected her. She ducked her head, and I knew that if she'd been human, she would have blushed. "Come."

"Pretty Mamma," Alicia sighed, nestling her head against Bella's shoulder.

I agreed wholeheartedly as I led my new family out of the room Bella had awoken in.

* * *

I watched, my shoulder propped against the doorjamb, as Bella laid our twins down in their beds, stroking their hair, before she straightened. Our eyes met, and a wave of lust rushed through me, one I had to fight to control.

"Come," I held my hand out, as she glided towards me.

"What now?" Bella murmured, her eyes glinting.

"I think…its time for us to test out the limits of your strength," I said as I led her from the room.

I led Bella into a wide hall, adjacent to the meeting hall, one where she could test out her speed and strength without breaking anything. It led out from the back of our citadel, into the plains of Tuscany, where we could access the difficult entrance, but humans could not.

Bella looked out at the night, and breathed in the fresh wind. She sent me a dazzling smile.

"Race you!" she shot off, jumping from the marble ledge and disappearing. As Felix and Demetri attempted to follow, I held my hand up, stopping them. A second later, for the first time in a long time, I went for a run.


	14. Aro: A Run In The Moonlight

Italians Do It Better

* * *

I raced into the Tuscan plains, Bella just a shadow in front of me, the wind of her passage whipping her hair back.

She was fast.

I struggled to overtake her as we passed out of Tuscany altogether, and the landscape changed to green, rolling hills and little copses of woodland, just beginning to lose their leaves. Bella laughed and looked over her shoulder at me, still in the lead even as I gained on her.

"Keep up, old man!" she cried teasingly. I drew level with her, and cocked my head, smirking, even while I ran beside her.

"Tell me, Bella, do you plan on leaving Italy altogether or should we stop do you think?" I asked, as I stopped abruptly. Bella shot off, and disappeared into a copse ahead of us. "Bella?"

"You want me to stop, then come and find me, old man!" she called, her tone playful.

Feeling my body stir, I walked into the copse, my every sense primed to find her. I inhaled the scents of wood, dew and the smell of animals, overlaid by a slight odour of human flooding into my brain. I searched amongst them for her scent; that unique trace of her human blood that still clung to her, exotic, enthralling. It was like a lodestone to my senses, as I stood in the copse, my eyes closed. A moment later I smiled predatorily, as I began to walk in the direction she had gone in.

* * *

I entered a slight break in the dense woodland, where a rocky tor erupted from the ground, and a clear patch of grass spread out from its base. I moved forward cautiously, listening to the sounds of the night.

Three miles away, a car door was slammed.

Five metres behind me an owl screeched, and a mouse scurried away into the undergrowth.

Suddenly I heard a playful growl, as I turned to find Bella launching herself off the top of the tor, and onto my back. Instantly I flipped her off my back, as she laughed, and threw her to the ground. Lust rushed through me as I pinned her wrists to the ground, achingly aware of her body beneath mine. Our lips were inches from each other as her red eyes glittered.

"Old man, hmm?" I asked her, letting my weight fall on her body.

"Well, aren't you like three thousand years old?" she asked, one fine eyebrow arching.

"More like two thousand seven hundred and nine, actually,"

"Decrepit," she murmured, her eyes darting down to my lips, before rising back to my eyes.

"Oh, really?" I asked in reply, thrusting my pelvis into hers, so she could know exactly how undecrepit I was. She gasped and arched her neck, biting her lip.

"You do know I can just throw you off me, don't you?" she retorted, shifting under me. I growled, digging her wrists into the ground, leaving twin dents in the earth.

"I know, but you won't. I'd wager you're rather comfortable right now," I whispered in her ear, the warmth of her cheek against my own.

"Cocky," she murmured, as I raised my head, smiling down on my Bella. The moonlight fell on her gentle features, beautiful, perfect; her skin glimmering like the moon's rays welled through alabaster.

"Two thousand years of ruling the vampire world does make one rather confident," I muttered, just brushing her lips with mine, teasing her. Need flowered, as the animal within me rose to the surface, leashed for the past month, snarling for her.

It was desperate now.

I held it back for the moment, as her breathing stuttered.

"I want you," she murmured, before she raised her head as far as she could, brushing my lips. I shuddered and kissed her, need rendering every muscle in my body taut. It was almost painful, the desire and the compulsion that flowed from that kiss, so much so, I groaned into her mouth. Her answering moan almost sent me wild, as I left her mouth to taste her skin, lavishing kisses down the length of her throat. Bella arched beneath me, the contact of our bodies sending an electrical current through us both. I released her wrists to explore her luscious body, as Bella's entwined with my hair, pulling it from its smooth style.

* * *

Then I heard it. That familiar beat of a human heart, as I paused and raised my head. Bella stilled, her breath stuttering. It was perhaps a mile away, and it reverberated inside my head.

"Bella….." I whispered warningly. As a Volturi, she would drink human blood anyway, but I would rather have her first kill under controlled conditions. In Volterra.

She closed her eyes, visibly fighting to retain control before she opened her eyes into mine.

"Aro," she whispered, before she grabbed me by the neck and kissed me, urgent and hungry. Suddenly she rolled us over, so she lay on top, her hands framing my face. I roamed her curves, her kiss and her touch distracting me from the human nearby. Her soft weight, her skin like satin under my touch, the shudders racking her body. Her lips fell to devouring my neck, and my head cleared a little. Whenever Bella was beneath me, it seemed a haze of desire and passion descended over my mind, hindering any thought process that dared to intrude.

How was she doing it? I could still hear the heartbeat not a mile away now, beneath the engine of a car, the human's scent beginning to saturate the air, flowing on the slight breeze. It was making my mouth water with venom, so what it was doing to her, a newborn only hours old, how was she doing it?

"Bella?" I whispered her name, as she undid the top button of my shirt, her lips gliding over my skin. I tensed, wrapping a hand in her hair, and pulling her head up.

But one look at her bruised lips and tousled hair and I pulled her lips to mine. I had no control around her, whatsoever.

I barely realised that the sounds of the car engine fading into the distance, taking the heartbeat with it. The scent of human blood faded into the undergrowth.

I gently broke from Bella's lips, as she leaned her forehead on mine, exhaling heavily. We both breathed heavily, our lips mere centimetres from each other, our breath mingling.

"Are you alright?" I asked, stroking her hair. She nodded. "How did you do that?"

"What?" she asked, raising her eyes to mine. They were coal-black.

"You resisted the thirst. Bella, you're a newborn. You shouldn't be able to resist it the way you did," I told her, stroking the hair at her nape soothingly, as she trembled.

"Maybe that was because right now, I don't want blood," she whispered, lowering her head again, a different kind of hunger in her eyes.

"What do you want?" I asked her, running one hand down the curve of her thigh. She shivered, as I flipped her onto her back. Her hair splayed over the grass, her lips open, mine to take. She was mine.

I lowered my head to hers.

"I want you," she murmured before our lips met with renewed hunger, urgency overriding everything. Ours lips locked as one, our tongues entwined. I yanked my jacket off, throwing it away impatiently, feeling the material rip, as Bella tore open the buttons of my shirt. My hands went to her sweater, before she abruptly left my kiss and rolled us over again. "Hang on, I don't particularly fancy having to run back to Volterra with no clothes. So hold your horses there, tiger," she muttered, sitting up to pull her sweater off herself. I had to concede she was right; that would be an indignity too far. Apart from the fact Felix would not let me or Bella forget it for decades to come.

But another animalistic part of me told the other to go to hell.

* * *

The moonlight bathed Bella's white skin, rendering her akin to a marble statue from a Classical sculptor. She looked like a goddess. I sat up, pulling her lips to mine, kissing her senseless. She pushed off my shirt, our Volturi pendants pressed against each other, a perfect fit to the other. She twined her arms around my neck, pulling herself against my chest, our bare skin touching.

After that, my senses disappeared, sight and hearing unable to make past the haze of desire, the craving I had for her body. No one, not even Sulpicia had made me feel like this.

I had found my true mate and now I had claimed her.

I felt her soft skin, like satin beneath my fingertips, her nubile limbs entwined with my own.

I tasted the sweet cavern of her mouth, as I took it voraciously, giving as well as taking.

She was mine, forever.

* * *

- Hours later, as the sun began to rise, we stopped. I could have gladly remained with her there all day, and the following night. And the next day and night….

"Does it ever let up?" Bella asked me, her sweet voice puncturing my thoughts, bringing me back to reality. She lay on top of me, our legs entwined, her slender fingers tracing my Volturi crest.

"Does what ever let up?" I asked, frowning. All these newfangled phrases, which were anything but helpful. But then again, leave it to teenagers to be deliberately vague. I tilted her head up to mine, looking into her eyes. She looked…bashful, sheepish. If she'd been human, she'd be blushing.

"You know…this desire. This craving for each other. How do we…?" she gestured helplessly, flicking her tousled hair over her shoulder. I chuckled.

"It becomes easier to handle, dearest Bella. After a few decades," I added, smirking at the look on her face. But I knew, with her incredible self-control, that it would only take three words to focus her mind onto one subject. Alicia and Charlie.

I was sure she'd already thought about them, but was dealing with her yearning for them, and the craving she felt. I remembered all too well how disorientating the extra space in ours mind could be, at first.

Bella's eyes widened, so much, I couldn't help but start laughing.

"Quit laughing, it isn't that funny!" she growled, frowning at me. If she'd possessed Jane's power, I'd have been done for. I couldn't help it, I just laughed at her. She was truly endearing when she wasn't seriously angry.

All of a sudden Bella appeared above me, pushing me back onto the grass, glaring down at me. I stilled, my gaze already falling to her lips, my need stirring.

"No, it isn't funny at all," I agreed, as I pulled her lips to mine. She moaned and arched in my arms, as I tumbled her over onto her back, putting all my weight onto her, her hands sliding into my hair.

I had a sneaking suspicion it would take considerably more than a few decades before this need for Bella would ever so much as ease enough for me to function without wanting her constantly.

* * *

It was early morning before Bella and I arrived back in Volterra, me sans jacket. In our destructive passion, the jacket had been one of many casualties, the others including the rock face of the tor, several trees and the ground of the clearing. To put it politely, it looked like it had been ploughed in the very centre, foliage and grass completely crushed.

Our journey back to Volterra had been much slower, as we'd had to hide in the shadows from the sun. Thankfully there had been some cloud cover, so we could run freely at intervals.

As we jumped into the training hall we'd left the previous night, I noticed our welcoming committee. And the half-hidden smirks on Demetri's, Felix's and Alec's faces. And the half-smile on Marcus's apathetic face.

The scowl on Caius's brow.

That alone might make the torture I was going to endure from Felix and the others for the day a little bit more bearable.

Bella soared through the air, her strength and speed breathtaking to watch. It made me want her all over again.

"Brother, you are returned," Marcus stepped forward, as Bella fell in beside me. Just outside, the sun came out once more, flooding the Tuscan plains with sunlight. To my surprise, and to the surprise of nearly everyone in the hall, Marcus stepped up to Bella and took her hand, brushing a kiss over it. "Sister, I am glad to see you so recovered from your ordeal,"

"Thanks, Marcus," Bella smiled a little shyly.

"Brother, we have business to attend to," Caius butted in, impatiently. I smiled indulgently.

"Of course. Bella, I shall be along in a little while," I ushered my mate out of the room, knowing she was desperate to see her children once more. Heidi and Renata immediately followed her, already following her like the leader she would become in time. I sighed wearily, as I made to follow Caius and Marcus from the hall. I passed Demetri and Felix, and saw their smirks.

"Not a word," I growled warningly, as they followed us from the hall.


	15. Bella: Time With The Family

Italians Do It Better

* * *

I felt Aro's smooth lips gently caress my naked shoulder, as the first rays of the sun threaded its bright fingers across our bed.

It had been an entire month since my transformation, and it had been heaven. Alicia and Charlie grew every day, their development astonishing us all.

"Come on, Bella. Another new day," Aro whispered in my ear, before the warmth of his arms left me. I groaned and buried my head under a pillow, the way I might have done whilst I was human. A moment later my pillow was ripped away, and I glared at my lover, as I sat up.

"Fine, I'm getting up," I muttered, walking past him, trying unsuccessfully to ignore the fact that he was still undressed, before he grabbed me around the waist. He pulled me to him and kissed me deeply, shoving me back into the wall. I sank against him, returning his passion tenfold, before I pushed him away playfully.

"Whoa there, tiger. You have council to attend in less than half an hour. You know how grumpy Caius gets when you're late," I warned him, sending him an arch look over my shoulder as I disappeared into the cavernous walk-in wardrobe.

It was a huge monstrosity, housing the new clothes Gianna and Heidi had brought me on my arrival. I would never get through all of them, even if I lived to be a thousand. And not a scrap of denim or ordinary material. It was all linen and silk and satin and lace.

Choosing a dress at random, I slipped it over my head, leaving the back undone, as I adjusted it around my body. It was a knee-length medley of black silk and deep blue lace. The tight silk bodice and skirt clung to my torso, whilst the lace sleeves ran down to my wrists, leaving my shoulders bare. My Volturi crest gleamed in the centre of my chest, as I pulled my hair free, and tried to reach the black pearl buttons at the back.

Suddenly warm hands interrupted my struggles, as Aro slid his arms around me.

"Allow me," he murmured in my ear, as he quickly fastened the back of my dress. He planted a kiss on the rise of my shoulder, as I shivered, my eyes fluttering shut, leaning back into his embrace. I noticed dimly that he was fully clothed now. Good thing for him, because his touch was enough to make me jump him.

"Thanks," I muttered, breaking away from him, before my self-control was shredded into non-existence. Ultra-controlled newborn I might be, but we all have our limits. At the thought, my throat ripped into flames, that thirst I had already learnt to fight and ignore flaring into life.

Determined to pretend it didn't exist, I sat down at my vanity and began to brush out my tangled hair, looking at my reflection in the mirror. Even I had to admit, I looked beautiful. Not quite as lovely as Rosalie had been, but not far from it. There were still little imperfections that helped to remind me of who I had been. That Bella Swan still existed. Aro moved into my sightline, sitting down behind me.

* * *

He had an uncanny ability to guess what was in my mind, so much so, I still wondered if he couldn't look into my mind.

He stroked the hair that was slung over my shoulder, enfolding me in his warm embrace.

"You have nothing to worry about, Bella. You're a natural vampire," he murmured, breathing in the scent of my hair. My reflection glowered at him in the mirror.

"Ok, are you sure you can't read my mind?" I asked him bluntly. He put his hand on my neck, making sure to touch my skin. A moment later, he shook his head.

"Nothing. Your shield seems to have only intensified, dearest Bella. You're just ridiculously easy to read," he said, standing up. I placed my brush down, as he bent his head and planted a kiss on the bare skin of my neck. I shuddered, and turned my head so our lips met.

This kiss was as hungry and urgent as every embrace of ours seemed to be, and I almost growled when he pulled away.

"Later?" I murmured breathlessly.

"Later," he nodded in agreement. He moved away to the door, when he turned around. "Oh, and Bella?"

"Hmm?" I murmured, meeting his eyes in the mirror.

"You're to come to council today. I'll send Jane to you at midday," he said before he left. I stared after him.

* * *

I slipped into my children's' room. It was an elegantly painted room, the ceiling made to look like a recreation of the Sistine chapel, mahogany floors rendering it a little less cold than the rest of the Volterra citadel. Gentle lighting gave the room a warm feeling; as I knelt down to hug my twins to me as they ran forward.

Mamma!" their entirely unpractised cry of joy echoed in my ears, as first Alicia then Charlie collided with me. I hugged them back, burying my face in their sweet-smelling hair. Charlie's was like soft down over my fingers, but Alicia's was like raw silk, gleaming like a raven's wing under my palm.

"Good morning, Bella," Heidi got up from a chair stationed beside a worktable, setting down a book.

"Morning, Heidi," I nodded at the lovely vampire, as she came back over to us. I stood, my two twins clinging to my legs.

"I think I'll leave them in your capable hands, Bella. I'll see you at council," she said. Frowning, I stood up.

"Heidi, what is going on? Why am I being summoned to council?" I asked her, my confusion showing. Heidi shook her beautiful head.

"I can't tell. Under orders you know. Great dress by the way," she explained apologetically. I sighed as she disappeared out the door. A tug on my skirt brought me back to reality.

"Mamma will you read to us?" Alicia had picked up the book, and I recognised the cover of Romeo and Juliet.

"Shakespeare's boring," Charlie muttered, huffing gently. I smiled down at my son, stroking his hair. "Hey, watch the hair!"

I frowned down at him, at this new language he was spouting. Alicia giggled, before skipping away with her book, dragging me along with her. A moment later I sighed.

"Felix? Alec?" I called quietly. I knew who the culprits were. They appeared at my side, smiling winningly.

"Uncle Felix! Uncle Alec!" my son launched himself at them, as Alec caught him in his arms.

"Hey little man," Alec smiled, and he looked like the boy I knew he must have been once. A moment later, he looked at me, as I frowned direfully.

"How may we please you, my lady?" Felix bowed his head mock respectfully, yet there was an ironic smile on his lips. I knew how he felt; I'd gone from being dinner to his superior in less than a month.

"It would please me if you refrained from teaching Charlie too many bad habits," I said, raising one eyebrow.

"Sorry, Bells," Alec replied sheepishly. In my month as a vampire, I'd grown close to all the Volturi guard. "He must have picked that up from me the other day."

"He's very impressionable. I won't have him turning into a teenager with bad attitude before he's even a year old," I continued, my frown easing slightly. I knew Alicia and Charlie were beloved by everyone in the Volturi, even Caius to some extent.

"Can I come watch you and Felix wrestle again?" Charlie piped up.

"Only if Alec promises not to cheat," Felix remarked, a smirk on his perfect mouth. I sighed, before fixing Alec with a questioning look, half-disapproving; half-amused.

"Wrestling?" I asked, shifting Alicia into my lap. "I'll have to see that one day."

"Can I go then, Mamma?" Charlie was almost jumping up and down in Alec's arms.

"Alright, since you hate Shakespeare so much. Keep an eye on him," I added to Alec, fixing him with my best 'I-will-kick-your-vampire-ass-if-anything-happens' look.

"We will, Bella. Come on, then, Charlie. See me beat Afton's face into the ground," Alec disappeared with my son.

"So bloodthirsty," I quipped, shaking my head, as Felix chuckled and I heard Alec's laugh in the corridor.

"If that's all, my lady?" Felix asked me, bowing slightly. Scowling at him, I whacked him on the arm.

"Stop calling me 'lady', Felix. I'm no lady," I told him jokingly. He held his arm in mock pain.

* * *

"Don't let Aro hear you say that," a new voice commented from the shadows of the door. I looked up as Felix bowed and left, to find Athenodora gliding toward me.

"Dora," I smiled, as we touched cheeks.

"Bella," she replied, in her breath voice, before Alicia jumped up at her. "And good morning to you, _mía__ stella,_"

"Mamma is going to read us Romeo and Juliet," she told Athenodora in her bell-clear, soprano voice. Athenodora placed her hand on Alicia's cheek, as she sat beside me.

"Well, then read, Bella. I always loved Shakespeare," she said, settling her skirts. Athenodora was clothed in a light summer dress that recalled the loose, flowing dresses of her youth in the early days of the Roman empire. Her blonde hair flowed over one shoulder. Sometimes I wondered at her relationship with Caius. They were polar opposites; Athenodora warm and friendly, Caius cold and cruel. She'd held no grudge against me for Sulpicia's fall.

Shaking away my thoughts, I opened the book and began to read. I'd always loved Romeo and Juliet, but as I read, it brought back memories I had fought to bury.

I knew my face must have fallen, as I read the balcony scene from Act 2, because Alicia sat on my lap and hugged me gently.

"Don't be sad, Mamma," she told me quietly, as Athenodora watched me curiously. I stroked my daughter's hair, finding it soothing.

"Maybe we should do something else now," I said.

"Brush my hair?" Alicia sat up. I knew she liked the feel of the brush as it swept through her long hair, her ringlets growing by the second. I smiled.

"Alright," I murmured. I led her to a little table on which lay brushes and combs, and began to brush out her long curls. It was soothing to me. Athenodora sat beside me, one hand on my free one. I turned my head to hers, as she spoke in a voice too quiet for Alicia to hear.

"Are you well, Bella?" she asked me gravely.

"I'm fine, Dora," I murmured back, focussing on my daughter's hair.

"Just now, you looked…so sad. As you have not looked since you arrived here, dearest Bella. Was it the book?" she asked me gently. I flinched, and she withdrew her hand. "Forgive me, Bella. I did not mean to upset you."

"No, no Dora. I'm fine, it's just that book holds some…painful memories for me," I said finally, sending her a small smile, trying to reassure her.

"Sing, Auntie Dora!" Alicia suddenly piped up innocently. We both jumped, at her request, brought out of our conversation. Athenodora smiled indulgently.

"What do you wish me to sing, _mía__ stella_?" she asked, as I finished brushing Alicia's hair.

"_Volare_," she answered promptly, as both I and Athenodora laughed.

"I have never known any child to like opera so much," Dora commented laughingly.

"She's her father's daughter," I smiled, shaking my head fondly.

"Please?" Alicia turned on us the full devastating force of her charm, as she favoured us with a heartbreakingly hopeful smile.

"You are quite possibly the most dangerous creature alive," I muttered, dropping a kiss on her curls. "Dora?"

"For you, little one," she sighed, before she opened her mouth and began to sing softly. I listened with pleasure to Athenodora's sweet voice, as she ran through the familiar verses. After a moment Alicia joined in, her soprano voice adding to Dora's contralto. When they finished I clapped, feeling bliss slowly pervade my anxieties, brushing away the cobwebs of the past. I didn't need the past; I had the future now.

The rest of the morning was spent in entertaining Alicia, playing with her dolls and reading to her. I avoided Romeo and Juliet, straying towards stories like the 'Three Musketeers' or 'Pride and Prejudice'. It seemed Alicia got her love of opera from her father, and her love of classics from me, unlike Charlie who was a typical boy.

I disappeared when Heidi came to feed Alicia, gliding away with a hug and a kiss to find Charlie.

* * *

The scene I came upon was comical, at best. I hung back in the shadows of the hall, as I watched Afton and Demetri wrestle, neither one moving. Finally, after an age, Afton's legs moved an inch, and my son's voice rang out imperiously over the hall, and the assembled vampires.

"Demetri wins!"

Afton swore quietly, below hearing range, as Demetri slapped a high five with Felix, before he stepped forward. I watched eagerly as Alec stepped forward. Now this would be interesting.

Their battle was short, but intense. Felix was the stronger, and his inherent gift was for fighting, but Alec was smart and fast, bending and flitting around Felix tauntingly. Finally Felix grabbed the teenage vampire and slammed him down on the floor.

Charlie called, from his seat on Renata's lap, as she watched nervously over the fighting. "Mamma, who do you think should win?"

I jumped, not realising he'd seen me, but I moved forward into the light. I stroked an imaginary beard.

"Hmm, I proclaim it a draw," I announced, before I knelt down as Charlie launched himself from Renata's lap and into my arms. "Whoa there, kiddo!"

"I resent that!" Charlie muttered against my shoulder, and I glared at Alec and Felix, who tried their best to look innocent, unsuccessfully.

"You are growing up way too fast," I murmured, feeling fear well up. Aro had assured me their growth was nothing to worry about, but still….

It was frightening.

Suddenly there was a presence at my shoulder, and I looked up into Jane's red-eyed gaze. Jane still disliked me, but we had a common cause to render us at least civil. She loved Alicia and Charlie as much as I.

"Aro requires your presence, Bella," she said sweetly, before she turned around and flitted away. Sighing, I hugged Charlie one last time before I let him go.

"C'mon, lunchtime for you, big guy," I murmured. "Santiago, could you take Charlie back to his sister?"

The Latin vampire stepped forward, smiling genially. "Of course. Come, _bambina_," he scooped him up and flitted away.

"I'll see you in a little while, Charlie," I called before I left for the hall with the remainder of the guard.


	16. Bella: Trial And Retribution

Italians Do It Better

* * *

The cavernous hall of the Volturi rang under my heels as I walked in. Before me, the guard were assembled perpendicular to the dais on which sat the three thrones of the Volturi leaders. Caius regarded me coldly through red eyes as I approached. I exchanged a brief nod with Marcus, before Aro stood in a show of harnessed grace and power. I struggled not give away the flare of desire that surged, my breath threatening to hitch. His smug smirk was answer enough that I failed terribly.

"Bella," he murmured, taking my hands as I stepped up the dais to him. His lips brushed mine, before he handed me to stand beside his chair.

"Why am I here, Aro?" I asked him. He became sombre as he sat back down, relaxing into his seat.

"To deliver justice," he answered vaguely, as a surge of dread impacted down my spine. The doors opened, and I noticed Demetri and Felix bringing in a stretcher, bearing items that seemed to glimmer slightly in the dim sunlight that pervaded the room. I then noticed a lock of blonde hair hanging over the edge as understanding dawned.

"No," I gasped, turning to face Aro, feeling the eyes of the guard upon me. "Aro, please."

"Justice must be served, Bella," Aro said simply, before he stood and addressed the assembled vampires. "Sulpicia has violated the rules of our coven. She has attempted to take the life of not just this young newborn, but of the two most unique beings ever born into the world. Our children," he finished, turning to me, and stroking my face. I couldn't take my eyes off the stretcher Felix and Demetri bore, as they set it down. "And so we have decided that her punishment will be death for her crime."

I stared at the remains of Sulpicia, twitching slightly on the stretcher. It was the most pitiful and disgusting thing I had ever seen. I felt Aro step up beside me.

"Bella, as her intended victim and as a daughter of our coven, it is your right to deliver justice," Caius said imperiously from behind us. I felt Aro slide something into my palm, something cold and metallic as my fingers instantly curled under it. I knew what it was, had had nightmares about it for weeks after I'd seen it used on Bree.

"Aro, I can't kill her," I whispered, turning desperate eyes to his. If I had been human I would have started hyperventilating.

"Bella, this is what we are," Marcus sighed gently from his seat. I shook my head.

"No."

Nothing moved in the hall. You could have heard a pin drop. I could feel the eyes of everyone on me, as I stood motionless in the great hall. I was frozen.

I couldn't kill her, I just couldn't. Aro's hand curved over my shoulder, as he stepped close beside me but it did little to distract me from the blood-red eyes that looked at me from the remains of her beautiful face. They looked at me with fear.

"Calm, Bella. I am here, everything will be alright," he murmured into my ear, too quiet for anyone else to hear. I clung to the sound of his voice, trying to claw my way back to reality. This had to be a dream.

Then I remembered. Vampires don't dream.

I distantly heard Caius's impatient voice behind us. "Do it, Bella, and take your place at Aro's side."

I still shook my head. "I-I can't. Surely there is another way?"

"There is no other way. If Sulpicia remains alive, then you and your children will never be safe," Marcus stood and joined Aro by my side. I looked into his red eyes, tired and yet compassionate at the same time. When I looked into Aro's that same compassion was there, but it was not directed at Sulpicia. His gaze was utterly ruthless when he turned it on the broken remains.

Marcus's words filtered into my brain, and I felt the seductive poison in them. He was right; Sulpicia would never stop until she revenged herself on me for taking Aro from her, but could I kill her, in cold blood?

_But it wouldn't be in cold blood_, another voice in the back of my head said, _not when she has broken vampire law. This is your world now, your destiny. Accept it_.

But it was Aro who provided the clincher. "Bella she tried to kill Alicia and Charlie before they even had the opportunity to breathe and live in this world. Marcus is right, she will never stop until you, I and our children are dead. She will always remain a threat."

At that thought, of my children threatened and then again as a nightmarish vision rose to my eyes; of them bloodless and glassy-eyed as Sulpicia knelt over them, grinning madly, made my vision go red. I was barely aware of Marcus leaving my side, as I raised my hand, pure hatred and anger at the doomed immortal below me sparking. I snarled, the red haze over my vision not yet elapsed.

"You will never harm our children again," I growled, and squeezed my hand. Flames shot from my hand, as Demetri and Felix jumped clear. The flames leaped high, gold and saffron, as the scent of burning flesh filled the room. I snarled again, bloodlust rising, as I had never known it before.

In moments all that remained of Sulpicia was a smoking pile of ash, glinting in the sunlight. The sun's rays bathed me and Aro in a golden glow, our skin glistening like diamonds.

Slowly the red drained from my vision as I lowered my hand. Pure joy lanced through me at the power I held. Sheer unadulterated power and joy.

Then sanity returned and horror along with it. I had _enjoyed_ it. I had enjoyed killing Sulpicia, once my morals were successfully displaced. Numb, I looked sideways into Aro's eyes, and saw the pride there. He was _proud_ of me, for killing Sulpicia. For removing the threat to our family. The thought alleviated the guilt and the self-repulsion I felt, as he bent his head and kissed me deeply. His hand curled over the one of mine that held the contraption that had reduced Sulpicia to dust, as we kissed in the sunlight. His possessive hands on my waist and arm helped me to fight back the sense of panic I experienced at the thought I had actually killed someone. A moment later, he left my lips to kiss my hand.

"My lady," he murmured, as I blinked at him. Suddenly Marcus and Caius stood in front of me, and they kissed my hand too, murmuring the same thing. For the first time ever, I saw approval in Caius's cold eyes.

The thought chilled me, as I looked around and saw nothing but acceptance and approval in the eyes of the Volturi guard.

I couldn't take my eyes off of Aro. I really had crossed over to the dark side.


	17. Bella: Comfort

Italians Do It Better

* * *

I ran through the halls of the Volturi, making it back to mine and Aro's rooms before I felt his warm arms snake around my waist.

"Bella, Bella, wait," he said, as I struggled against him. My newborn strength won out and I slammed him against the wall, cracking it.

"Why! Why did you make me do that?" I yelled at him, shuddering violently.

"Bella, I did not make you do anything," he protested calmly, remaining still in my hold.

"I…."I collapsed into his arms, grief and pain overcoming my strength. He held me, stroking my back soothingly, caressing my hair.

"Bella, you did the right thing. You have protected your children and your family," he whispered in my ear. I didn't want to hear it.

I wanted, needed distraction. I needed to numb the pain I felt, as well as the guilt. Turning my head from him, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror.

Who was she? This beautiful, red-eyed predator?

Who was I?

Nightmarish images rose, as I rested my head on Aro's strong chest, letting him comfort me, letting him protect me.

_The fear in Sulpicia's eyes_

_The flames as they leapt high into the air_

I flinched, closing my eyes, inhaling Aro's scent, concentrating on the feel of his suit under my fingertips. I felt his strong, nimble fingers on my chin, tilting my head up.

"Bella, look at me," he whispered, achingly gentle. I raised my eyes to his, letting him see the anguish and the pain in my soul. He'd called himself a soul reader once, he didn't need to touch me to read my soul in that moment.

I felt his fingers on the Volturi crest he'd given me, and I shuddered.

"Bella, do you know what this means?" he asked, his eyes on the golden 'V'. He didn't wait for my answer. "It means we are a family. And we protect our family,"

"Carlisle said something like that once," I murmured, leaning into his hand on my cheek.

"He was right. Bella, what you did, it was not evil or wrong. You have protected your family and the coven, and no-one looks at you with anything but approval, my darling," he stroked my hair. I closed my eyes, concentrating on the feel of his skin.

"It doesn't make me feel any better," I whispered.

"No-one said you had to feel good about it, Bella," he reminded me gently. I began to shake in his hold, trembling violently, strange noises coming from my throat.

I experienced what it was like to cry in this body.

Aro's lips on mine gave me an anchor to sanity, allowed me to stop my shaking as I concentrated on his satin smooth lips, on his claiming tongue as it entwined with mine. I slid my hands into his hair, holding him to me.

The next thing I knew, Aro had me up against the wall, my legs around his waist, our mouths still fused. I moaned into his mouth and clawed at his suit.

Our clothes really didn't stand a chance.

They became nothing but scraps of linen and silk on the floor.

I broke from Aro's mouth to gasp as his lips slid down my neck.

"Careful, or you'll leave a Bella-sized imprint in the wall," I said breathlessly, arching my back when I felt him within me.

"Hmm, I think it'll add to the décor nicely," he growled, mock frowning, before he kissed me hungrily. The feel of his skin on mine was enough to let me forget all that had happened that morning, his body claiming mine, rough, ungentle.

My eyes rolled back into my head at the feel of his mouth tracing down my body, lingering over my midriff. He took my weight and flitted us over to the bed, leaving my body as he threw me back. I arched into his arms as he joined me on the bed.

* * *

I rested in Aro's arms, as he stroked my hair, our passion simmering below the surface, just waiting to burst into life again. I exhaled slowly, letting go of my negative feelings. I had needed Aro today, every particle he gave me of himself to wash away the guilt. I was no longer human, I couldn't let guilt and self-disgust rule my life.

"What are you thinking?" I heard Aro's voice ask quietly, as one of his hands stroked my bare shoulder. I knew it bothered him sometimes that he still couldn't read my mind.

"Just that….thank you, for what you said. I needed to hear that," I murmured, raising myself onto my elbows to plant a gentle kiss on his lips. It quickly escalated when I heard the sound of two little heartbeats come skipping towards our room.

"Uh oh," I murmured, smiling fondly as I raised my head.

"Our little monsters are coming," Aro said, whilst sitting up. I left his arms to glide over to my vanity, picking up one of the robes on the side and throwing it at him.

"Hey, don't call my babies monsters!" I growled playfully, seeing with satisfaction that it hit him on target. "Put that on, or you'll give Charlie and Alicia nightmares."

I shrugged my own on, sitting down on my vanity to brush out my rumpled hair. I looked a mess. Suddenly Aro appeared behind me, one knee on the stool of the vanity, my body sandwiched between his legs, the silk of his robe nothing to the rock-hard muscles of his body. He held my shoulders between his hands, and lowered his mouth to my neck, kissing it hungrily. I moaned and set down my brush, tilting my neck to the side. One errant hand roamed my body, sliding beneath the silk. A second later, I pushed him away, hitting his shoulder.

"Behave. The kids will be here in a minute," I hissed at him, pulling my robe back around me, as he sighed heavily and disappeared into our wardrobe.

"Mamma!" our twins burst into the room, as I swivelled around on my stool. The sight of them was balm to my soul, as I hugged them to me. Charlie broke away from my embrace to launch himself at his fully clothed father.

"Papa, I watched Alec and Felix wrestle today, it was so cool!" he squeaked happily, as Aro hefted him into his arms.

"Now that would be an amusing sight!" Aro agreed, before he looked at me and mouthed "What does cool mean?"

I rolled my eyes, as I lifted Alicia into my arms and joined the father of my children.

"Hello, princess," he murmured, planting a kiss on her soft hair. She sighed in bliss and laid her hand on his cheek. Aro tensed under whatever image she showed him, then smiled gently at her. "You grow more beautiful every day, little one."

"Not as pretty as Mamma, though," she said, shaking her magnificent head. I put my hand on her curls.

"Oh you surpass me little one, as the moon eclipses the sun," I whispered into her ear.

"Papa, what does 'goddamnit' mean?" Charlie suddenly piped up, innocent curiosity on his face. I sighed, fighting for patience.

"Easy, Bella," Aro advised me, a smile playing around his mouth. Alicia giggled in my arms.

"Felix, Alec you'd better run!" I called, knowing they would hear me. "Because when I catch up with you, I'll beat you into the ground!"

"So violent," Aro muttered, kissing my hair, and down over my jawline to my lips.

"Yuck!" our twins chorused as one.

Charlie mimed throwing up. "Get a room!"

I rolled my eyes. Alec and Felix had a lot to answer for.

So violent," Aro repeated, as he kissed my mouth again.

"Don't you know it!" I smiled, as I kissed him back. After the horror of the morning, this precious moment with my family was what I needed.


	18. Bella: Please Don't Make Me Love You

Italians Do It Better

* * *

_**There's only so much  
That a heart can take  
Before it starts to break  
**_

_**Please don't make me love you  
Please don't make me need you  
I've no room in my life  
For something like this  
**_

_**Please don't take my mornings  
Please don't steal my summers  
I know they will vanish  
The moment we kiss  
**_

_**I grow weak when we talk  
I'm confused when we touch  
I should just walk away  
But that's asking too much  
**_

_**Please don't make me do this  
**__**Please don't make me want this  
All my dreams were taken  
Until I met you  
You're the one I think of  
Soon as I awaken  
Funny how the heart tells  
The mind what to do  
**_

_**I'm not sure I can go through all  
The joy and the pain  
Much better not  
To let these dreams take flight!  
Please don't make me love you  
Please don't make me need you  
Simplify my life  
By just setting me free  
**___

_**Promise me you'll do this  
Only you can do this  
Please don't make me love you  
Unless you love me**_

Please Don't Make Me Love You-Dracula the Musical

* * *

It was deep night in Volterra, the candles lit in the library. I had just put Alicia and Charlie to bed, whilst Aro was meeting with Caius and Marcus. For the first time in a long while, I had nothing to do. Sighing, I lifted down a book from a shelf in the interminable bookshelves, and settled down to read.

The dull script and unimaginative prose did nothing to hold my attention as it began to wander. For awhile now, the thirst had begun to bother me, where it hadn't before. The burning in my throat was at a constant, throbbing, reminding me of what I had become. When I looked in the mirror, my eyes were inching towards black, instead of the ruby red they had been. I sighed.

What could I do? I remembered my resolution not to kill a human, but in Italy there weren't many opportunities for hunting animals. They had no natural predators left, like mountains lions or bears, and too few other mammals. The only place they still roamed was in zoos, and I couldn't pick one off without calling attention to it. So what did that leave me?

Humans. But I couldn't kill them, could I? Just to sate my own thirst?

I knew what Aro would say. He would say that humans were our natural prey, that it would be no different than killing a rabbit to survive. Except rabbits couldn't speak and cry and beg for mercy.

To be honest, I sometimes wondered if humans were any different from vampires really. They still killed others for their survival, just like we had to. The only difference was that animals couldn't moralise or plead for their lives. They couldn't say: this is wrong, this is murder.

That thought would have turned me vegetarian if I'd thought about it when I was human. I smiled wryly as I realised how quickly I'd adapted my thinking of humans as 'they' instead of 'we'. 'We' for me was vampires now.

But something within me shied away from killing. I had come to accept that killing Sulpicia had been necessary, to remove a threat, even though another part of me whispered that killing for any reason was wrong. That it marked me somehow.

Then I reminded myself that almost every vampire I had ever known had killed someone at some point. Except Carlisle.

* * *

I heard footsteps before I saw their owner, and my head turned towards the source.

"Hello, darling," Aro beamed at me as he crossed the room toward me. He bent his head to mine, kissing me tenderly before he pulled away.

"How was council today?" I asked him, closing my previously ignored book.

"Fine. You were sorely missed," he said, sitting down beside me. I frowned at him.

"What do you mean? Surely you don't expect me to be there?" I asked him. His face turned grave.

"I do, Bella. You are the mother of my children, and my mate. You belong by my side at council," he replied soberly.

"But Athenodora doesn't attend," I pointed out, feeling slightly panicky. Me, a leader?

"Bella, she chooses not to attend because she, I and Caius all agreed that she was not a natural leader, nor was she strong enough to make the decisions we must make. You are, my darling. You belong with us, the three leaders. Surely you didn't believe you were just a member of the guard?" Aro asked me incredulously. I gulped, feeling dread set in. I lowered my eyes, feeling that burning in my throat heighten again.

Suddenly Aro grabbed my chin, forcing my head around, until my eyes met his. He frowned.

"Isabella, when did you last hunt?" he asked me, maintaining eye contact the entire time. I knew I wouldn't get away with lying, not with my coal-black eyes.

"Ummm….about two months ago, when I woke up from…" I gestured airily, not willing to bring up the subject of my painful transformation.

"Since the twins were born?" Aro clarified. I nodded. He looked at me consideringly, before rising. He offered me his hand, the consummate gentleman, as I rose. "You look thirsty. Come."

* * *

Aro led me into the throne room, where I picked up the speeding heartbeat of a human. Too fast for Alicia or Charlie, and the thought of the blood pumping through this unknown human's veins sent me over the edge. A growl erupted from my throat, as the hunter in me rose, and my mouth filled with venom. Then my eyes fell on the human being held securely by Felix and Alec.

Gianna.

Horror displaced my thirst, before the scent of her blood rose again. In my head a war of morals and primal needs was already waging.

Gianna looked terrible, trembling and crying soundlessly, her hair dishevelled and her clothes scruffy. She knew what she was there for. Aro dropped my hand as I froze, staring at her, my mouth watering, my mind rebelling against my body.

He stepped up beside her, running a hand gently over her tear-stained face.

"Master, y-you s-said I would be turned," she sobbed, fear and horror in her face.

"Oh, my dear Gianna," Aro sighed sadly, caressing her face. I watched as the blood pooled under her skin. "My dear, you have long outlived your usefulness here amongst us. It is for the secrecy of our race that we do this, nothing more. We must keep our secret, and you have become a liability,"

"B-but….."

"Bella?" he suddenly turned from the crying human, and beckoned me forward. I was still undecided, horror making me pause, stopping the instinctive predator within me from acting as it wanted to.

I came forward slowly, my eyes fixed on her face. I remembered all her friendly help during my pregnancy, all her sympathetic smiles and her comforting words. I couldn't do it. Surely there had to be an alternative.

"Ladies first," Aro gallantly moved out of the way for me, moving aside Gianna's hair, so her throbbing vein was exposed. I swallowed, determined not to breathe. I shook my head mutely, holding my breath.

"No." I muttered through gritted teeth. Damn, some of my air supply gone.

Aro frowned, his smile disappearing, confusion on his face. He moved toward me, his hand outstretched.

"My dear, how are you doing it? How can you be so controlled? This is our nature, our world, don't deny it."

"No. There has to be another way than just killing her. If she threatens our secrecy, then we can….I don't know, turn her?" I backed away from Gianna, my mind made up, my resolution strong now. I wouldn't kill her.

"We cannot turn every human waif and stray that knows our secret Bella," Aro said gently. "At least this way, she serves a purpose."

"Why not turn her?" I asked, folding my arms stubbornly.

"It would not be beneficial to us, Bella. Our coven is big enough, we need no more," he said, a trace of impatience in his voice.

"You mean because she isn't gifted? Why should that matter? Just turn her, and if she isn't gifted then teach her how to survive and then let her go free!" I all but shouted at him, frustration boiling over. Why did he have to be so uncompromising?

"Bella, I know the thirst is beginning to grow worse in you. It is starting to become a torment, and one that has a cure," Aro abruptly changed tack, grabbing Gianna's chin and yanking her head back, so her skin was exposed. I closed my eyes, inhaling. The smell ripped my throat into flames. "Feed. It is your nature now."

"No!" I growled, backing away even more. "I don't have to kill innocent people if I don't want to."

"You would become a vegetarian like your precious Cullens?" Aro asked me incredulously, his brows rising. I shook my head, before I recognised his tone. Was that jealousy in there when he mentioned the Cullens?

"There are other alternatives to being a vegetarian, Aro," I muttered, as a new solution rose in my mind. Why hadn't I thought of this before?

"You will not feed?" Aro asked me, one last time. I shook my head.

"No. I will not take Gianna's life when she has done nothing but be kind to me since I arrived here," I said, my fists clenching at my side.

"Very well," Aro seemed to sigh in defeat and disappointment, but I didn't relax. Something wasn't right. He clasped his hands, mimicking a pose that reminded me of when we first met, one year and three months ago. Some things had changed, but that hadn't. "Felix."

Felix flitted forward, as Gianna's eyes flared wide. I felt my own widen before I tried to leap forward, to move Gianna. Aro's arms caught me around the waist, bringing me to the ground.

"NO!" I screamed, trying to reach Gianna. Her screams of pain reverberated in my ears, as I felt Aro bend over me.

"You can't deny your nature forever, Bella. This is your world now; accept it," he whispered into my ear, his tone harsh and unforgiving.

But as Gianna's lifeless body slumped into Felix's arms, and Alec joined the feast, I felt something within me harden. I would never kill a human. Nor would I forgive Aro for this betrayal. I turned my head.

"I hate you."

* * *

I didn't speak to Aro for over a week after Gianna's murder. I refused to even acknowledge his existence, a behaviour which raised more than a few eyebrows amongst the Volturi. I spent all my time with my children, trying to ignore my growing thirst. Every time Aro would see my coal-black eyes, he would shake his head sadly. I refused to take the bait, as with every human he tried to tempt me with, my control only improved. Even starving myself, I would not give in to the baser predator that prowled within me.

* * *

One night, about two weeks after Gianna's death, I slipped out of the castle. I pulled a long dark cloak over my black attire, blending into the shadows seamlessly as I glided from a fourth-story window and landed soundlessly on the street below. Looking either side of me, listening with all my might for any followers, tasting the air for their scent, I flicked my hood up, hiding my long brunette curls and pale skin.

I flitted through the night, the scents of jasmine and musk filling the air, doing nothing to drown out the smell of humans. I tried to block them out as I quickly passed them by, ignoring the open windows and easy to break doors that were only a temptation, rather than a shield. Finally I reached my goal.

Volterra possessed one of the best hospitals in Italy, and its blood bank was my target. Its security was minimal, easy to break as I slipped onto a lower floor by a window. The fluorescent light was harsh, unprotecting. If there were any porters around, I would have to move fast. Opening my senses, I inhaled warily. There were plenty of heartbeats on this level, but none moving. From the cadence of their breathing, most of the humans on this level were asleep. Reining in my thirst, my throat burning, I swept down the corridor.

My quick mind easily translated the Italian signs, I'd been teaching myself the language, and I walked into a darkened corridor, the lights out in this wing. I reached a locked door at the end, and sighed. I couldn't break it down, not if I wanted to remain inconspicuous, so I pulled something I had stolen on my way.

A lock-picking kit.

I fumbled slightly with the delicate tools before I got it. The door unlocked with a satisfactory _click_. Smiling ever so slightly smugly, I slipped my tool kit back into my cloak pocket and glided inside.

Inside the sterile room were all blank white walls and linoleum floors. Fridges lined the wall, and I could smell the blood. Cold, maybe, but infinitely more inviting than the few samples of animal blood I had ever smelled. The fridges were locked by key coded tumblers, but I had an answer.

I could feel the indents of fingerprints on the keys, with my enhanced vampiric senses, and I easily got one fridge open. I grabbed a bag and ripped it open, drinking deeply. I had finished it in seconds. I drank from five other bags, feeling gorged on blood, my strength returned, before I moved the remaining bags around, to hide the evidence of my robbery. I closed the fridge door and locked it again, before I slipped back out, remembering to lock the door to the blood bank. I passed a mirrored wall on my way out, and saw that my eyes were once again a bright shade of crimson.

As I slipped back inside the castle, I heard the sound of someone approaching. Hastily I ran to the twins' room, shutting the door, an imaginary heartbeat in my chest beating erratically. I slipped my cloak off, and sat down beside my little ones as they slept. I looked into their innocent faces, and hoped they would never have to go through the pain of killing anyone. So far they had been living on bagged human blood, but would Aro force them to kill, when they were older and fully grown?

* * *

Speak of the devil.

"Bella?" I heard his voice call. I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath.

"Here, Aro," I replied softly, his presence appearing at my side a second later.

"Where were you? I was worried about you," he said, reaching out one hand to my shoulder. I moved, refusing to meet his eyes in the softly lit room.

"I bet you were," I muttered. I felt him sigh impatiently. Suddenly he grabbed my chin, forcing my head around. He took in my blood-red eyes, and a slow look of triumph overtook his handsome features.

"You've hunted," he murmured, his voice soft and gentle. Like a father talking to his errant child whose now come home. I shook my head.

"No. I told you there was an alternative," I told him, my own triumph rising up. His smug look faded, to be replaced by one of confusion.

"What alternative? Your eyes are as blood red as if you'd drained a human dry," he said. I glared at him.

"Maybe we should take this conversation to a more appropriate venue?" I said, rising. I led him out of the twins' room, and into our own. I heard the door click shut behind me, and noticed there was a fire burning in the grate, its warmth rushing over me. A hand, _his_ hand slid down my spine, making my breath hitch, lust rising.

It was a potent force, and a part of me hated myself and him for making me feel like that when I only wanted to hate him after Gianna's death. But I couldn't hate him, despite my words in the throne room that night.

* * *

A moment later, I felt his warm breath on the nape of my neck, as he moved my hair out of the way. I shivered, fighting not to give into my own desires.

"Now, my sweet Bella, what alternative were you referring to?" Aro breathed against my skin. I hated it when he did this; I could never think straight.

"Ahh….I stole bagged human blood from the blood bank at the hospital," I told him, my voice shaking slightly. There was only silence behind me. "Aro?"

"That will be the first and last time you do so, do you understand Bella?" he growled against my throat, before I was spun around and backed against a wall. The ceiling cracked as I glared at my lover.

"Why? I'm still drinking human blood, like you want me to, just without killing anyone," I growled back at him, my lips contorted into a snarl.

"Bella, it's unnatural. We are vampires; it is our right and our purpose to hunt humans. Why will you not grasp this?" he retorted angrily.

"Who are you to say what is natural and unnatural? Why can you not accept that I don't want to kill an innocent human being? Have you totally lost any humanity you once possessed? I am a free person, and I can do as I like," I almost shouted at him, shrugging his grip off. We stood a few metres apart, both of us breathing raggedly. I fought back my instinctive desire, determined not to break.

"You are mine, Bella," he snarled, his teeth bared in a feral growl that sat ill on his sophisticated features. He grabbed me by the nape of the neck and kissed me. Instantly resistance melted, and all sanity, identity and feelings burnt away at his incredible kiss. I stopped being Bella, sucked into a vortex of desire and passion.

He could do it every time, and I relished it, but not now.

NO!

I pushed him back, taking all my newborn strength to do it, whilst my heart and my body cried out in agony. My push sent him all the way over the other side of the room, cracking the other wall. His expression was etched like granite, desire driven in those inexorable planes. I shivered, my breathing accelerating.

"Tell me, do you plan to force Charlie and Alicia to kill?" I asked him, trying to maintain my glare. He stopped, frowning, the intensity that would have devoured me gone for the moment.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"When they're fully grown? Will you force them to kill a human to survive?" I asked him, shaking slightly. Every muscle felt like jelly.

"It is what we are," Aro remarked coldly. I shook my head, anger beginning to rise.

"No. It is not what they are. They're half-human, Aro! Would you force them to feed on their own kind? Would you eat a vampire?" I countered. Abruptly Aro turned his back and walked out the room, slamming the door shut. "That's it, just walk away!"

I stood staring at the space my lover had just occupied, my words still ringing on the air. I exhaled shakily, before I stumbled backwards and slid down the wall, one hand over my mouth. The aftershock from our first real argument had me trembling uncontrollably.

What had I done? I had stood up for myself, not allowed him to dominate me, but had I destroyed our happiness?

Could we still be happy, after all that had happened?

I had always known there was a darker side to Aro, a cold, calculating manipulative side to him I had witnessed once, whilst I was still human. But I had been blinded by the tender, loving and passionate albeit arrogant man who was my lover and the father of my children. Something welled up within me, as I recalled his words, and mine from ages ago, an entirely different life it seemed.

"_You are mine, Bella."_

"_So am I. I told you, it doesn't matter what you are. It's too late,"_

Every time he had ever said I was his, I hadn't answered in the negative, but neither had I agreed with his statement. I had always seen myself as free, but was I?

When I was around him, it was like I lost my identity, I couldn't think around him. When we were apart, I could think only about him. He commanded me, body and soul and…heart?

I couldn't hate him.

I loved him.

And the thought scared me to hell. I had to get away.


	19. Bella: If I Could Fly

Italians Do It Better

* * *

_If I could fly,_  
_I'd fly away from you,_  
_Away from it all,_  
_But I am trapped and fighting to break free,_  
_What have you done to me?_

_I wish I had wings,_  
_No that's not true._  
_If I had wings,_

_How could I help_  
_flying straight to you?_

If I Could Fly-Dracula The Musical

* * *

I sat amongst the suitcases and luggage stacked haphazardly in the hold of the Boeing 747 that was taking me back to Washington, my last conversation with my children running through my mind, my eyes sparkling with tears that could not fall.

* * *

"_Alicia?" I gently shook my daughter awake. I was clothed in a dark coat that covered me from head to toe, my hood down for the moment, black leather gloves covering my skin. Underneath I wore a long-sleeved rollneck and black linen trousers, my long hair pinned up and back. After my argument with Aro, I had quickly and quietly gotten changed and set about making preparations. Because I couldn't stay there, not with the realisation I loved Aro, hopelessly, unconditionally no matter what he did to me._

_I had to get away to think straight, to gain some clarity. As I stroked my little daughter's ringlets, I knew I wouldn't stay away for long. I couldn't, not with my babies relying on me. When I left, I would leave my soul and my heart behind me._

_I fingered my Volturi pendant, wondering if I should take it off, but I couldn't. It was a part of me, just like they were._

_Just like he was._

"_Mamma?" Alicia's gentle whisper had me coming back to reality. I looked down and smiled at my little daughter._

"_Hey honey," I whispered, but my voice was choked. Sometimes I wondered if my daughter was an empath too, because she instantly leant forward and hugged my waist._

"_What's wrong, Mamma? You're upset," she whispered, as I heard Charlie move on the other side of me. He sat up, putting a hand on mine, his hot skin scorching mine._

"_I need you to listen to me, both of you. I love you very much, you know that?" I asked him. They both nodded briefly. "Good. Mamma needs to go away for a little while, but I will be back. I will come back," I repeated, seeing the heartbreak rise in their eyes. "I will not leave you, for long."_

"_Don't go, Mamma," Charlie threw himself into my arms. I held him close._

"_I need you to be a big boy, Charlie. A man, to look after your sister and your father for me," I stroked his hair. "Promise me!"_

"_I promise, Mamma," he said, his voice trembling slightly. _

"_Alicia?" I looked to my daughter, holding my other arm out. She was much more composed than my son, understanding in her chocolate brown eyes. She seemed so adult in that second. "I love you so much."_

"_I know, Mamma. I know you'll come back to us. We'll miss you," she whispered, burying her soft little face into my neck._

"_I love you both so much," I whispered, my voice breaking, along with my resolution._

"_And Papa? Do you love him, Mamma?" Charlie suddenly asked, sitting up straight in my arms. I stared at him, my breath frozen._

"_Yes," I exhaled heavily. Suddenly it seemed so easy to say and to admit. "Yes I love your father, very, very much."_

_Too much._

"_Then why are you leaving, Mamma?" he asked, as Alicia sat up also. I pondered what to tell them._

"_One day, when you're in love with someone so unconditionally, so irrevocably and completely, you'll understand." I whispered. "Please be good and look after each other, for me. For your father,"_

"_We will," they said in chorus, as I held them to me, their tears making up for the ones I could never cry. I rocked them in my embrace, never wanting to let go._

"_I will never let you go, my little ones. I will come back to you, and I will always be with you," I whispered, one last time, pressing a kiss to their foreheads._

* * *

I had slipped out of Volterra easily enough and ran all the way to Florence airport, stowing away on a flight to New York. Then I'd stowed away again on a flight to Sea Tac airport.

I felt the change in air pressure as the plane tilted downwards to land. I was going back to Forks, one last time.


	20. Aro: Loving You Keeps Me Alive

Italians Do It Better

* * *

_The first time I set eyes on you,  
I knew I'd never be the same.  
I never knew I'd get such pleasure whispering your name.  
If loving you keeps me alive,  
Then how can leaving me be right?  
Turn back and let me love you.  
Stay with me and let us dance into the night._

_You are the one,_  
_The only one,_  
_To make me see,_  
_The empty life I lead._

_You are the love,_  
_The only love,_  
_I'll ever need._

_The first I set eyes on you,_  
_I knew I'd never be the same._  
_I never knew I'd get such pleasure whispering your name._  
_If loving you keeps me alive_  
_Then how can leaving me be right?_

_Turn back and let me love you,_  
_Stay with me and let us dance into the night_

Loving You Keeps Me Alive-Dracula the Musical

* * *

How could she do this to me?

I stood in our children's room, as they sat on their beds, crying softly, the harsh light of day spilling into the room.

How could she do this to us?

I didn't know, and not knowing was worse than anything else.

Her cloak lay on the side, and I reached for it and held it to my face. Her scent still imbued the fabric, exotic and spicy on my tongue. Wild, untamed and free.

Just like her.

How could I have been so stupid as to drive her away, because I was unwilling to compromise about her eating habits? I didn't care really, and I knew my answer to her question the night before.

I could never force Alicia and Charlie to kill anyone for their survival. If they wished to kill, they could do so, but I would not force them.

But why did she leave me? I knew there had to be more to it than just the argument over her eating habits, or our children's'. No, Bella would have stayed and fought it out with me, she was just as uncompromising and stubborn as I.

"Papa?" Alicia's sweet voice punctured my fevered thoughts, as I lowered the shapeless length of silk from my face.

"I'm sorry, darling," I said, sitting down beside her. She burrowed into my arms, the same as Charlie on my other side, clinging to me. I stroked their hair soothingly.

"It's alright, my children. I'll take care of you," I whispered, leaning my cheek on Charlie's soft hair.

"Mamma told me that's my job," he murmured, playing with the golden Volturi crest hanging from my neck.

"What? When did she tell you that?" I asked, a frown starting to form on my face.

"Last night. She came to say goodbye," Alicia piped up, moving into a better position on my lap. I turned my gaze to her, before returning it to Charlie, thinking. Maybe Bella had told them more about why she was leaving?

"Charlie, my son, I need to know what your mother said to you. Will you let me see?" I asked him, the only one of my children into whose mind I could look. He looked me squarely in the eye, in a way so reminiscent of his mother, before he nodded once.

Their maturity truly was remarkable.

I leant forward and placed a kiss to his head, keeping my arm around Alicia simultaneously.

"Thank you, Charlie," I murmured, before I took his hand in mine and closed my eyes.

Memory after memory flowed into my mind, thought after thought, until I found the ones I wanted.

* * *

"_I know, Mamma. I know you'll come back to us. We'll miss you,"_

"_And Papa? Do you love him, Mamma?"_

"_Yes I love your father, very, very much."_

"_Then why are you leaving, Mamma?"_

"_One day, when you're in love with someone so unconditionally, so irrevocably and completely, you'll understand."_

"_Please be good and look after each other, for me. For your father,"_

* * *

That was all I needed, taking my hand from his.

"I'm going to get her back, my loves. I promise you that," I murmured, as I hugged them close. "I love you both."

"Do you love Mamma?" Alicia posed that question, looking up at me through innocent brown eyes. Bella's eyes. I looked down on her, but my answer was instinctive.

"I love her more than life itself," I whispered, knowing it as truth. I would ensure I would get the chance to tell her myself soon.

At that moment, Felix and Demetri entered the room.

"Report!" I barked, not in the mood to be polite. They bowed once before speaking.

"She's taken a plane to America, Master, but we don't know where," Demetri explained.

"Can you not get a trace on her, Demetri?" I asked frowningly.

"I cannot, Master. She is closed to me," he said regretfully. I nodded, already thinking ahead. With Bella's gifts, I should have assumed that Demetri's would not work. He needed access to a person's mind to track them, and Bella's mind was closed to all intrusion.

Thinking, I went through all I knew about Bella. She still had family in America; a father, Charlie….a mother, Renee and a stepfather, Phil…her mother and stepfather were travelling around America, so where….?

There was a map of the world on the twins' bedroom wall, and I got up to stand in front of it, staring at it desperately.

I was barely aware of Heidi and Jane bringing in blood for the twins, comforting them with soft words and embraces.

* * *

_Where have you gone, Bella? Where have you run to?_

I had seen the anguish and pain on Bella's face through Charlie's memories. Where would she go, to think?

Why couldn't she just tell me she loved me?

I shook away that thought, waiting for when I would see her. Then my eyes fell on the Olympic Peninsula, Northern America.

Charlie, her father, lived in Forks, Washington. Bella had moved there, and that was where she had met Edward and the Cullens. Could she have gone back there?

But there was nothing left for her there, apart from her father. My informant had told me the Cullens had moved on. Bella wouldn't dare reveal herself to her father, risking exposure, surely?

She would know the Volturi would have no choice but to kill or turn her father.

No. She wouldn't risk her father, but she might go back to see him, watching from the shadows.

I clasped my hands, making sure I was clear in my own mind, before I nodded once.

"She's going back to Forks, Washington. Jane, Demetri, Felix we leave now," I said brusquely. Jane kissed Charlie's forehead before gliding out the room with her fellow guard members. I turned around to hug my son and daughter, once, before I let them go.

"I love you. Behave, and I'll be back with your mother soon," I told them, kissing their foreheads, feeling their hot skin.

It wouldn't be easy, Bella would not come quietly. She was fast and strong, deadly as a jungle cat, with the same degree of wildness. But I would make her stop and listen.

She was mine, and I would never let her go. I loved her too much.


	21. Bella: It's A Dangerous Game

Italians Do It Better

* * *

_-I feel your fingers/ Cold on my shoulder_

_Your chilling touch/ As it runs down my spine_

_Watching your eyes as they invade my soul_

_Forbidden pleasures/ I'm afraid to make mine..._

_At the touch of your hand/ At the sound of your voice_

_At the moment your eyes meet mine_

_I am out of my mind/ I am out of control_

_Full of feelings I can't define._

_It's a sin with no name/ Like a hand in a flame_

_And my sense proclaim/ It's a dangerous game!_

_A darker dream/ That has no ending_

_Something unreal/ That you want to be true._

_A dance of death/ Out of a mystery tale_

_The frightened princess/ Doesn't know what to do!_

_Does she just run away?/ Does she risk it and stay?/ Either way there's no way to win!_

_All I know is I'm lost/ And I'm counting the cost/ My emotions are in a spin._

_And though no one's to blame,/ It's a crime and a shame_

_But it's true all the same/ It's a dangerous game!_

_No one speaks/ Not one word/ All the words are in our eyes._

_Silence speaks/ Loud and clear/ All the words we/ Want to hear._

_At the touch of your hand/ At the sound of your voice_

_At the moment your eyes meet mine_

_I am out of my mind/ I am out of control_

_Fighting feelings I can't define._

_It's a sin with no name/ Like a hand in the flame_

_Fire, fury and shame!/ And the angels proclaim..._

_It's a dangerous game!_

- "It's A Dangerous Game" from JEKYLL & HYDE

* * *

_How strongly are you opposed to grand theft auto?_

Alice's voice rang in my mind as I drove my 'borrowed' black Porsche 911 Turbo down the winding freeway, through mountains and forests I'd once called home.

The sun was just beginning to set as I weaved between other cars, the breakneck driving I'd once hated, seemed so natural and comfortable now.

Who'd have thought it? Bella the speed-neurotic turned speed freak?

As my old town came into view, the twilight painting the closely grouped houses a dull sienna as it disappeared behind the mountains, my grip tightened on the steering wheel, making the leather of my gloves and the wheel creak.

What was I doing? What game was I playing?

_A dangerous one._

I was filled with a desire to see my father again, even if it meant I couldn't let him see me so changed, but I would be leaving a trail for Aro to follow. Straight to my father.

Finally the forests of Northern Washington began to close in around us, and I pulled in, ditching my car. I preferred to run. I flipped my hood up, shielding my skin from the last of the early evening light.

* * *

As I ran, I thought. I was on Quileute territory, and I was a vampire. If they caught me I was fair game. I had to be quick, one last look at my father and then run somewhere else, somewhere I could think in peace, away from Aro. My thoughts turned to the Cullens; where they still here? Would Alice see me now my twins were born and I was a vampire? How did I feel about that?

I was filled with yearning to see the family I'd once dreamed of joining and yet I didn't want to. I couldn't face Edward.

A part of me still loved him, I wasn't going to deny it. I would always love him, but I had lived without him now, and I knew it was possible. Aro had done what Jake could not; he'd outshone a solar eclipse.

My mind drifted to my werewolf best friend. We were enemies now, would he hate me for what I had become? Was he even here?

My old house appeared in the distance, and I flitted into the shadows of a tree that sat beside it. The lights were off, the house empty, Charlie's police cruiser missing from the drive. I saw with a pang that my old Chevy still sat in the drive, even more rusty than I remembered.

My bedroom window was open; it had been from there that I had woken up on the first morning after I had found out Edward was a vampire. I had looked out and seen him waiting with his Volvo in the driveway for me.

So much had changed.

Without thinking, I jumped and grabbed the ledge, swinging myself inside. Once there, I looked around, memories and grief washing over me. My bedroom door was locked, white sheets laid over the furniture. Through the gauzy material I could see the layers of dust over the books and laptop, my bedroom lamp. My pictures of my old school friends were still there, Mike smiling at me, standing beside Eric and Angela and Jessica.

My fingers drifted over a book; Quileute legends. The book that had led me to the truth about Edward, and started this whole crazy journey into the supernatural. A ring I had worn the first day I'd met him, when he had glowered at me murderously, and I wondered what his problem had been, sat on my dresser.

A jacket hung around my work chair, the same one I had worn for my first trip to Italy. My fingers glided over the soft brown material, and the dirty white fleece lining of the hood. The trip that had changed my life.

The sound of a car engine stopping outside, and the sound of a human heartbeat had me jerking out of my memories. I moved to the curtain, peering through them.

Dad.

Something was wrong. He stumbled out of his car, and he couldn't walk in a straight line. In a flash I was out of my old bedroom and down on the pavement. I watched in slow motion as he toppled forward, and I caught him instinctively.

"I've got you, Dad," I murmured, holding him against me, inhaling warily. My throat burned, but I ignored it, before the smell got to me. He was drunk.

I stared at my comatose father. Charlie never got drunk, he wasn't a big drinker. So what the hell?

"Bells?" he muttered weakly, as I held him in my arms.

"I'm here, Dad," I replied, glad my hood threw my face into shadow so he couldn't see my red eyes. My voice was off slightly, but I don't think he noticed.

"You were always such a good girl. Takin' care of me, of Renee," he slurred, slumping in my hold. "You cold, Bells."

"Yeah, I know. C'mon, let's get you inside," I swung him into my arms, his weight ridiculously light. I noticed with a pang the bottle of Jack Daniels in the glove compartment of the police cruiser.

We were halfway up the stairs when he said something that almost made me freeze.

"Why'd you jump off the cliff, Bella? Why did you commit suicide?" he asked me, his eyes heavy. He was heavily inebriated. Wait, he thought I committed suicide?

And then I remembered. The day I had discovered I was pregnant I had gone to the La Push cliff top where I had jumped once before, on an adrenaline rush. I had cut my hand, I recalled, and my engagement ring had dropped off my finger. The Volturi had found me there, and I'd disappeared without a trace for humans to follow. But surely the Cullens would have known? The Quileute werewolves?

I was dead. My human life had ended months ago, without my being aware of it. And now Dad was falling apart because of my selfishness.

I laid my father down on his bed, leaning over him. He was semi-conscious, and falling fast, until I woke him up again.

"Dad!"

"My Bells. Always knew you'd become an angel," he said. Great, he thought I was an angel. I wanted to cry.

"Dad, you have to listen to me. Listen to me!" I shook him gently, when I noticed his greying hair and the bags under his eyes. My father had grown old. Pain slashed through me again. "Dad, you have got to pull it together. You can't live the rest of your life like this,"

"You're all I had, kiddo," he murmured, falling asleep.

"Dad, for me. Stop drinking, and go back to work, and meet some gorgeous woman who can make you happy. Make me proud," I whispered in his ear. He nodded sleepily, before he rolled over and snores began to shake the house. I sighed and pulled the covers over him, removing his shoes. I could only hope something in his subconscious would remember what I'd told him, even if he only thought it a dream.

"Goodbye, Dad," I murmured, moving to the open window. I couldn't stay here.

Suddenly I rushed back to his side and planted a kiss on his forehead, trying not to let sobs shake my body. "I love you. Have a great life, for me, Dad,"

Those last words were a whisper against his ear, before I was out the window, a mere shadow in the night. My children would never know their grandfather. Charlie would never know his namesake, and my father would never know his grandson was named after him.

* * *

I cried silently, as I ran through the trees.

I found my feet taking me towards the La Push reservation. I knew it was stupid, that the wolves would kill me if they found me but it was an urge I couldn't deny.

The waves crashed on the beach, grey storm clouds racing in from the sea. I remembered the whirl and the rush of the currents as they'd battered my body, a year and three months ago. With that one little jump my life had changed forever.

I paced to one of the broken logs, one on which I'd sat and talked for hours on end to Jake, before the supernatural had come between us. Now we were natural enemies. My best friend the werewolf, and me the vampire.

I heard the ultra-fast heartbeat before I felt the heat, and smelt the wet-dog smell. Growling reached my ears, as I slowly turned.

I knew that russet wolf.

"Jake…." I sighed. The monstrous wolf stopped growling, looking at me oddly, curiously. I took my hands out of my pockets, and dropped my hood, just as the light of the moon fell on my face. I heard his intake of breath, as his jaw dropped, but I understood the gesture.

_Bella!_

I saw him begin to tremble, and I turned my back so he could phase back and change. His scent rose on the wind, yet it was strangely unappetising. I felt no thirst.

"Bella…?" Jake's warm, husky voice, tinged with wonder and disbelief, had me turning.

"Hey, Jake," I said weakly. His eyes sparkled with moisture, before they hardened, as did the mask of his face.

"So the bloodsuckers changed you after all. What'd you do, hide out in the forest whilst they did that sham of a funeral?" he asked bitterly. I shook my head.

"No, Jake. The Cullens didn't turn me," I whispered, pain in my voice. Even I could hear it.

His cold mask cracked slightly.

"They…didn't? Then how?" he gestured weakly. I smiled wryly, keeping my distance. I knew wolves hated the smell of vampires almost as much as vampires hated theirs.

"The freaky red eyes and the cold skin?" I clarified. He nodded.

"You remember the Volturi?"

"Hard to forget," he muttered bitterly. I flinched at the memories.

"Well, they kinda did this to me. It's a long story," I sighed. Jake looked ready to burst.

"I've got all night. You gave me a scare when I smelt vampire on the res. I'd thought the Cullens had come back, or another leech-er sorry. No offence," he grinned sheepishly.

"None taken." I shrugged. "Wait, what d'you mean, 'the Cullens had come back'? When did they leave?" I asked, both dreading and wanting the answer. Jake shrugged.

"Bout a month ago, maybe more. Don't know where they went," he said. Suddenly he launched himself at me and I flinched expecting sharp claws to impact around me. Instead I only felt hot arms cradle me, as he buried his face in my hair.

"Bells, I thought you were dead," he murmured.

"I kinda am, Jake. But it's good to see you too," I hugged him back. He winced.

"Ow. When did you get so strong?" he asked, as I released him, mortified.

"Sorry!"

"No sweat. You wouldn't need me to protect you from Paul anymore, that's for sure," Jake joked, and I was glad to see him back to his old self. I moved back slightly.

"I know you don't like the smell," I muttered in explanation at his hurt expression. He shrugged.

"C'mon then. You gonna tell me the great epic story of where you've been for the past few months or not?" he asked me, leading the way to the logs. I nodded, glad to finally tell my story to someone.

* * *

So I told Jake everything. That was the great thing about Jake; I could tell him anything, and he wouldn't judge me. I told him about my sacrifice in Volterra the first time, and then my second encounter with Aro. I told him about my pregnancy and how my confrontation with Edward had gone. I told him that Aro had found me and brought me back to Volterra.

I told him the whole story.

"Wow!" he muttered, whistling through his teeth.

"So you not going to give me hell over sleeping with another vampire, getting knocked up and becoming a vampire myself?" I asked, when the expected tirade didn't come. Jake sent me a sidelong look.

"Nope. You've always loved things you shouldn't, Bells. I'm not massively surprised, but what a scumbag, this Aro. And now you've run away from him?" he asked again. I began to nod, then stopped.

"Not exactly. I just need time away from him, to think straight,"

"You should get marriage counselling," he quipped, and I rolled my eyes. His gaze fell on them.

"Your eyes aren't gold," he said bluntly, and I flinched.

"No, but Jake I haven't killed any humans, I swear to you. I steal blood from blood banks and hospitals," I explained hurriedly. "One of my gifts is the kind of super-control over my thirst."

"That's useful. So no scary newborn year, huh?"

"Nope. That's part of the reason why I ran from Aro. He wouldn't understand why I couldn't drink from a human. I guess he's been doing it so long, and he's so old, he's forgotten what it is to have been human," I sighed, looking up at the stars. The clouds had disappeared, and they were out in full force. They were beautiful.

"How old?" Jake asked me.

"Two thousand, seven hundred and nine years," I replied. I heard Jake's whistle again.

"How is everybody?" I suddenly asked. "Quil? Embry? Sam? Paul? Emily? Billy? The Clearwaters?"

"They're all cool. Dad is around yours a lot, trying to help Charlie out-"

"I saw him." I sighed.

"He's in pretty bad shape." Jake nodded.

"He thought I was an angel, he was so drunk. When did that start?" I asked, turning my head to look at him.

"At the funeral. I guess Charlie couldn't cope with the grief. Dad tried to snap him out of it," Jake told me. "Emily and Sam have gotten married, and she's pregnant. The pack is cool, but it's a good thing I'm the only one who regularly runs patrol. The others might have taken you down, no matter who you are,"

"Thanks for the warning. I'll keep away in future," I promised. Jake's face fell.

"Can't you stay near? I would like to see you, vamp or not," he pleaded. I shook my head, putting a hand on his muscled bicep.

"It's been great seeing you, Jake, but Aro knows I have a past here. This will be the first place he'll look, when he comes after me." I said, fingering my Volturi crest.

"Guess so," he blew his cheeks out, sighing heavily. Suddenly he stiffened.

"What is it?" I asked, as he began to tremble. We stood as one, and I lowered into a hunting crouch, moving away from Jake as the trembling which preceded phasing got worse.

"Vampire," he ground out between his teeth. "Run, now!"

* * *

"I'm afraid it's too late for that," a cool, seductive voice I knew well said from the shadows of the trees. With dread and desire in my heart I turned to see Aro, silhouetted against the dim light of the moon.

"Aro."

"You certainly know how to pick'em, Bells" Jake said snarkily. I knew what he meant. Aro looked like he belonged on the cover of GQ, in his trademark black suit and dark overcoat, not standing on a dark beach at midnight.

"Jake, go back inside. I can handle this one myself," I said, a strange buzzing sensation in my hands. I didn't want two men I loved fighting each other.

"Bells, I'm not leaving you on your own," Jake stepped up beside me. That buzzing sensation grew worse.

"Jake stop being so stubborn!" I muttered through my teeth, not taking my eyes off of Aro. God, just looking at him made me ache. His cruelly sensual beauty was only magnified under moonlight.

"Hello, Bells! You're driftin'" Jake snapped his fingers in front my eyes.

"Sorry!"

Jake rolled his eyes. Aro, who'd been watching us through narrowed eyes, shook his head.

"So this is the famous Jacob Black."

"How do you know his name?" I snapped angrily. Damn, I'd hoped to keep the wolves out of this.

"Edward was a very jealous man," Aro replied smoothly. I rolled my eyes. "I can't believe you named our son after a dog."

"What?" Jake exploded.

"Charlie's middle name, or one of anyway, is Jacob. Hope you don't mind," I shrugged, really hoping he wouldn't mind.

"Nah, not really," he shrugged after a moment.

"Look at you two arguing like an old married couple," Aro sighed, stepping closer. I moved in front of Jake, feeling his trembling worsen.

"Aro, keep back. Jake go home," I warned both of them. I moved between them, my hands outstretched towards them both.

"Bells, I can't let some leech trespass onto our lands," Jake gasped.

"What do you think I am? Aro, keep back! You have no idea what you're dealing with!" I yelled at him, snarling, my head turning from Jake to Aro and back again.

"Bella, I think I can handle it. We have some things to discuss, do we not?" he said calmly, holding out one gloved hand to me.

"I am not going anywhere with you," I backed away slightly.

Aro sighed. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't drag you kicking and screaming back to Volterra?"

"Because I'm stronger than you," I held up my fingers, taking them down one by one. "I'm faster than you. And I will kick your vampire ass if you try,"

"Kick my vampire ass? What in heaven or earth does that mean?" Aro raised an eyebrow, and I sighed exasperatedly.

"Told you he was old," I muttered in an aside to Jake.

"Now who's arguing like an old married couple! Maybe you should think about marriage therapy," Jake muttered. I rolled my eyes.

"Don't give him ideas-Jake!" I screamed, as he phased, his claws just missing my face.

"Bella, come with me now!" Aro almost reached out to me, but Jake growled and tried to leap forward.

"NO!" I cried, throwing my hands out, blinking. When my eyes opened, I blinked again. From my hands hung a shimmering, mirror-like shield that had spread out from my palms, separating me and Aro, and me and Jacob.

* * *

"What the hell?" I muttered.

"Well, I guess you have discovered one power, Bella," Aro observed, his eyes wide. Jake growled, confusion in his basketball-sized eyes.

"Great," I rolled my eyes. "How did you find me?"

"Bella, it's not hard. Where is the one place left on Earth you have any ties to your mortal life?" Aro asked me, exasperation on his own face.

"Already figured that. What do you want?" I asked, dreading the answer.

"You. Or more importantly I need to talk to you," he said. Jake growled.

"Easy, Jake," I murmured, my shield still hanging around them both spasmodically.

"Alright, I'll offer you a deal. If I come with you, just to talk, then you forget you ever saw Jake, and he can go home. Agreed?" I stared Aro down.

"A fair compromise," he inclined his head.

"Not your best feature," I breathed. He continued without noticing my barb.

"If the dog is agreeable?"

"Tip: stop calling him a dog," I turned my back on Aro, addressing Jake. "Jake, when I let this shield down, I want you to go home. Go home to Billy and stay there."

He growled, shaking his great head.

"No, Jake. I can handle Aro, he's no threat. I'll get him off Quileute lands," I promised him. Jake fixed me with a black glare, one I held effortlessly as the minutes ticked by. "Jake, please?"

Finally the wolf bowed his head, and I sighed in relief. I turned back to Aro. "You keep your end of the bargain,"

"As long as you keep yours," he said suavely. I glared at him.

"Ok, there's just one problem. I have no idea how to shut this thing off," I muttered.

"Close your eyes, Bella-" Aro began.

"Thanks for that, Yoda!" I snarled. He glared at me, and I shivered under the intensity in his eyes.

"Just do it Bella," he sighed through gritted teeth. I took hold of my temper and did so. "Now, search within your mind for the trigger. Focus on it and release the power,"

* * *

Strange to tell, I could feel the trigger in my mind. It had been instinctive, driven by a need to stop two men I loved from tearing each other to pieces. As I searched for it, I felt another layer. My mental shield. It felt like a living elastic layer over my mind and I pondered at this new development. This could be interesting; it felt movable. Maybe I could protect others with it too. I felt my shield drop, as I breathed a sigh of relief. I felt slightly drained by the experience.

"Come, Bella," Aro held out his hand to me commandingly, but I ignored it, turning to the wolf behind me. "Careful, Bella!"

"He won't harm me," I murmured, kneeling down beside the giant wolf. I stroked his fur, and hugged him, burrowing into his heat. "Love you, Jake. Have a great life."

He gave a mournful howl, a basketball sized tear falling down his giant cheekbone. Slowly, he trudged back into the forest, before breaking into a trot and then a gallop, never looking back. "Goodbye, my friend."

I felt Aro draw close, his scent and his strength reaching for me, making me want to just-

No! This was exactly why I'd left Volterra. So I could think free of him, for a little while. So I could reassure myself that I was still me, still Bella.

I ran.

* * *

- Aro chased me through the forest, as I raced ahead, leading him from Quileute lands, far from Forks, up into the mountains. I felt a hand grab my arm and swing me around. My back collided with a tree, a branch cracking overhead, raining pine needles down us. I found myself nose to nose with Aro, our breathing ragged, our eyes fixed on one another.

Anger and desire burned in his eyes, the reciprocal emotions rising in me.

"You can't run from me, Bella!" he snarled, as I opened my mouth to reply.

He kissed me, hard and fast, taking possession of my mouth, and my senses.

He didn't play fair.


	22. Bella: Battlefield

Italians Do It Better

* * *

_**Don't try to explain your mind, I know what is happening here,**_

_**One minute its love, and suddenly it's like a battlefield,**_

_**One word turns into another, why is it the smallest things**_

_**that that tear us down?**_

_**My world's nothing without you, I'm out here without a shield,**_

_**Can't go back now, both my hands tied behind my back with nothing,**_

_**Oh no, these times we climb so fast to fall again.**_

_**Why we gotta fall for it now?**_

_**I never meant to start a war, I never want to hurt you,**_

_**Don't even know what we're fighting for,**_

_**Why does love always feel like a battlefield?**_

_**A battlefield,**_

_**A battlefield,**_

_**Why does love always feel like a battlefield?**_

**Battlefield-Jordin Sparks**

* * *

I struggled to fight Aro off, the drugging quality of his kiss loosening my resolution. I sighed exasperatedly, and kissed him back.

I loved him so much.

However this was going to become problematic, as my knees weakened and my body sank against his. I was determined to get away, so I could think.

His hands slid into my hair, caressing my skin. I shuddered, as he left my mouth.

"You're coming back with me to Volterra, now," he growled against my lips, as I struggled against his strength.

"No!" I pushed him away, fighting free of his arms. We stood a few inches apart, breathing heavily, glaring at one another. "I am not coming back to Volterra, not yet."

"Why did you run in the first place? Did you not even think about Alicia and Charlie and the effect this would have on them?" Aro demanded angrily. I closed my eyes, fighting down the pain and the instinctive anger.

"Don't you dare! The only reason I left Volterra was because I needed to think. They know that, they understand," I argued fiercely, my heart torn in two.

"You will come back to Volterra with me, Bella," he snarled, taking one step closer. I stepped back, into the centre of the clearing, as a thunderstorm erupted overhead.

"Oh, and why is that?" I asked, raising one eyebrow, trying to match his arrogance with my own.

"Because you love me," he murmured, his anger dissipating, his gaze softening. I stared at him.

"What….? Ho-…You looked into Charlie's mind," I said quietly, after my surprise died down and I could think rationally again. Damn!

He stepped closer. "I did, with his permission of course."

"Aro-"

"Bella, you love me. Stop trying to deny it," he murmured, in that soft, gentle voice he didn't use often, except with me and the twins.

"I'm not," I whispered, beginning to back away. This was not good; how the hell was I going to be able to think straight if he dragged me back to Volterra? Now he knew, I would never escape him for long.

"Then why are you running? Why did you run before?" he asked, still stalking me. I growled in frustration.

"I'm not,"

"You are, Bella. You're afraid to let me touch you, to hold you," he continued his verbal torture. At his words, I felt those longings rise.

"Stop it," I murmured, closing my eyes.

"Bella," he drew me close, into his warm arms, and I shuddered but didn't try to move away. I felt the jaws of a trap close around me. "I love you."

I froze, my lungs seized.

"Please don't say that," I murmured, shaking my head, my eyes closing. Pain filled me; how could I leave him now I knew he loved me?

"Bella, you know it is true. I love you, and I will never let you go," he stroked my hair, as a rush of fear and need washed over me. I leant my head against his chest, refusing to look at his face.

"No…"

"Yes." Aro whispered.

"N-" I tried to say again, before his hands forced my face up and he kissed me. I felt the leather of his gloves on my skin, as his hands moved to my back, pulling me closer. I went, twining my arms around his neck. I kissed him back with a fervour I had never shared with him before, fire racing through my body.

Sense returned again, as I experienced that whirlpool of oblivion that his kiss brought, that loss of self, but a world of sensation in its place.

* * *

I pushed him away with all my strength, walking around him agitatedly.

"NO! This is exactly why I left Volterra in the first place! I can't think around you, I can't even keep my hands off you for very long, and you're not much help! I need to think!" I yelled, letting off my frustrated steam, throwing my hands up in the air. I blew my hair out of my face, before I faced Aro.

"What do you need to think about? I love you, Bella, and you love me. That's it," he replied, watching me with slight amusement in his red eyes.

"Arghhh! That's not it!" I exploded, gritting my teeth. "Aro, you're a complete nutjob! You're cold and manipulative, and power hungry and ruthless and arrogant and possessive…"

"Are you quite finished?" Aro asked pointedly, one eyebrow cocked. I ignored him.

"…You're everything I shouldn't want, and everything I can't live without. When I'm with you, I feel like I lose who I am. I stop being Bella. I just need to…get away and remind me who I am," I faltered awkwardly.

"Bella…." Aro began, moving toward me, but I moved back.

"No. I can't let you touch me," I whispered, as a newborn agony racked my being. I needed him so badly. Leaving Volterra had torn me apart, leaving him and my twins and my new family. If he touched me, I would lose myself and be lost forever.

"Bella…just tell me. Do you love me?" he asked, moving closer. I still moved back, despite my inclination to do otherwise.

I froze again. I couldn't even form those words on my tongue, yet I couldn't say no either.

"Yes, I do," I whispered.

"Then come back with me," he replied, this time keeping his ground. I shook my head.

"I will come back to you, Aro. I have nothing without you, all I have is you, and I couldn't live without you now, but I can't come back yet," I whispered, shaking my head.

He tensed, as still as a statue, before there came a great crash of thunder overhead. I looked above us, as the first drops of rain trickled down my cheek.

"Bella…." Aro's voice, steeped in granite and darkness, had me looking back to him. "I will not let you go. You cannot ask that of me," he growled.

Taking my courage in my hands, I walked back to him. I took his hands and held them to my lips, before raising my eyes to his.

"That is why I am telling you, and not asking Aro. I will come back to you, just give me time," I whispered against his lips. I couldn't stay away for long now, not from my personal brand of heroin. The love of my eternity.

I had hurt so many because of my selfishness. Jake, Edward, the Cullens, Charlie….

I had lost two men I'd loved, and I wouldn't lose another.

"Bella…" Aro began to shake his head. "You are impossible."

"Would you love me if I was anything else? If I was submissive and retiring?" I asked, cocking my head to the side, smiling slightly. I knew I had won.

"It would make life easier," he joked, one corner of his lips quirking upwards for one nanosecond, before his face hardened. "But no, I wouldn't love you if you were. The moment you walked into Volterra, and I held your hand in mine, I needed you."

"Now you're exaggerating," I grimaced, rolling my eyes. Edward had been as bad.

"You truly do not see yourself clearly, Bella. Do you know why I came to find you, that second time in Forks?" he asked, sliding his arms around my waist. I let him, knowing I was strong enough to pull away. Or so I hoped.

I shook my head in answer to his question.

"I had never met anyone like you, Bella. Most humans would cower in terror at the sight of us, let alone be willing to give their life for one of us. Can you blame me for wanting you? For wanting your innocence and your courage and your love, even while I destroyed your life?" he asked rhetorically.

"You took my innocence alright," I muttered, ignoring the rest of his statement. I DID not want to think about what he had taken from me.

"Bella, I can't let you go," he said calmly, yet I felt his hands tense around my body.

"You don't have a choice in the matter, Aro. I am strong enough to push you away, and I will do it, if I have to," I murmured, hating myself. Already there was a little voice at the back of my head urging me to give in and give up my crazy idea.

"Then I will not stop until I have you by my side once more," he growled, even as I wriggled from his grip. I smiled, a predatory quirk of my mouth.

"Bring it on!" I smirked, before I sobered and moved closer once more. I raised my hands to his cheeks, memorising the contours of his face, as he turned his head to kiss my palms. "Please, Aro just let me go."

"I can't," he whispered.

"Then give me three hours head start. If you catch me, I will come back to Volterra," I promised him. "I will come back to you."

"Bella…." He began, and for the first time I saw pain in his eyes. I kissed him, that pain a mirror image of my own. I would never forget it. I stroked his face and neck, drawing my fingers down the hair that was draped over his shoulders.

"I will come back to you, I promise. Tell the kids I love them, and I'll be home soon," I whispered, breaking from his lips one last time. Aro pulled me back to him in a kiss that scalded my skin, and my soul, deep and claiming. Branding me as his.

I moved backwards out of his arms, maintaining eye contact, trembling. Agony overset me, as I saw the flames and the pain in his eyes.

"Bella…."

"I'll be seeing you soon," I said, before I turned tail and ran, the image of his face engraved into my eyes.


	23. Bella: Who Am I?

Italians Do It Better

* * *

I wasn't naïve or stupid enough to believe that Aro would give me my three hours, so I ran without pause, not even looking over my shoulder to say goodbye to my old home. The forests of Northern Washington gave way to the frozen wastes of Alaska, and then the craggy but green wilds of Canada. It was not long before I heard sounds of pursuit but I was faster.

Felix and Demetri chased me for who knew how long, but days and nights blurred into one. I was aware of only agony; agony at leaving behind the man I loved. But as I ran, I thought.

I thought about whom I had been and who I had become. And then I realised, as the pain and the regular beat of my feet upon the ground brought me clarity.

I was dead. My old life was gone, the old me was gone, and I could never reclaim it.

I could never be Bella Swan again.

"Bella! No!"

The cold water engulfed me as I plunged from a cliff into the freezing Atlantic.

I did not know if I was Bella anymore.


	24. Bella: Four Months Later

Italians Do It Better

* * *

_At last there are no questions,  
I know all there is for me to know.  
My heart and I have all the answers;  
I know how I want my life to go._

_At last the mist has lifted,_  
_It's all so simple, so crystal clear._  
_Why did I fight what was meant to happen?_  
_The fight is over, at last I'm here._

_I don't need the sun to make me shine inside,_  
_I have your eyes._  
_And I don't need light for me to see what's right._

_At last there are no questions;  
You know all there is for you need to know.  
My heart and I have all the answers  
I know how I want our lives to go.  
_

_At last, the mist has lifted;  
It's all so simple, so crystal clear.  
Why did we fight what was meant to happen?  
The fight is over, at last you're here._

_**At Last- Dracula the Musical**_

* * *

I stalked my prey down a darkened alleyway, the London air awash with the scent of human blood, cigarettes, stinking refuse and exhaust fumes.

Ahead of me, I heard the double heartbeat of a pregnant woman, maybe seven months gone, and my target. I waited in the shadows.

Another shadow followed her, one I mirrored, red eyes glowing in the dark.

Overhead a full moon, painted red by traffic and pollution hung in the sky.

I waited.

The pregnant woman neared the end of the alley. I saw the other vampire move, and so I struck.

A scream rent the air, as the pregnant woman was grabbed roughly by two strong, icy hands. I stepped forward. She screamed.

"Now, now, didn't your mother ever teach you manners?" I asked, as the woman screamed again and I stepped out of the shadows.

The vampire paused from its attack, and stared at me through glazed red eyes. He was a plain specimen, his hair rank and limp, despite the beauty of his features. He was dressed in a distressed leather jacket, jeans and a filthy t-shirt.

His eyes slid down my form, taking in my long loose brunette curls, my slender figure encased in leather trousers, a red silk halterneck, red leather jacket and black boots.

Alice would've approved; I'd come a long way from the girl who wore sneakers and jeans. My Volturi crest hung from my neck. I felt his eyes fall on my necklace.

"My lady!" he released the woman, and fell to his knees before me. I gestured towards the woman.

"Get home and forget this ever happened. Look after your child and be thankful I was here to save your neck. And do me a favour: avoid alleyways from now on," I murmured. The woman stood, wide-eyed, her raincoat drenched in drain water and some unnameable sludge. I didn't want to know. The woman flicked her wet hair from her tear-stained face and rushed past, shaking.

"Thank you," she murmured, and then she was gone. I tracked her heartbeat until it disappeared into the crowd of millions that were passing by not a hundred feet away.

I turned back to my prey, my smile disappearing into a snarl.

* * *

"Your name?" I asked him quietly. He only stared up at me. "Your name!" I barked, my tone sliding into a commanding one I had used now hundreds of times.

This is me, Bella, defender of the weak and innocent humans. I protected the weakest of humans from the very worst of my kind, and I'd been doing it for four months now. Ever since I arrived in London.

Running through the streets of London reminded me invariably of Carlisle.

"I cannot recall, my lady," he bowed his head, fear in his red eyes. He was almost feral, one of those who could remember little of their humans lives, who let the pain of transformation take their identities. Yet he obviously knew who I was, or at least my rank. Guard members of the Volturi wore a crest made of silver, its leaders one of gold. I had not realised its importance, or how it marked me out as a leader of the Volturi, when Aro had given it to me.

Aro.

I flinched away from his memory.

"Pity, for you're about to die," I murmured, looking down on him as I placed my hands around his face.

"P-please! You are one like us, my lady," he gasped. I froze, as I saw for myself in a puddle, my blood-red eyes and ivory skin.

"No, I am not one like you, vampire. You do not know the meaning of control or mercy. You would take the lives of not just one innocent, but two, before it has had the chance to breathe a single breath. And for that alone, you will die," I growled, my grip tightening.

A cracking sound erupted, and I watched fissures open up in the vampire's skin, it ruptured and split. With one final twist I pulled his head from his body, my teeth bared.

I dropped his head beside his body, as it collapsed backwards, far enough away that it could not reattach itself. I saw the decapitated corpse twitch, its hand sliding across the floor.

"Oh no you don't!" I muttered, stepping on its arm with my boot, my heel digging into the stone flesh.

I took a lighter from my pocket, and a small bottle of cleaning spirit. I poured it over the remains, and popped the lighter. My hand paused, before I let it drop and walked away.

Four months had changed me a lot.

* * *

I smelt it as soon as I walked into my apartment in Westminster.

Vampire.

I closed the door and shrugged my jacket off before I walked into the living area.

My apartment was basically a two room dwelling, since I had no need for a kitchen or much else. I had a bare bedroom, a living area that joined onto the bedroom via a screen door and a bathroom. It was pitch black, not that that mattered to my senses, as I moved cautiously into the darkness.

A hand gripped my neck from behind, as I heard an animalistic growl. In a move as quick as lightning, I had reversed my captor's hold, and now held him against the wall. A crack ran vertically up the cheap plaster.

I stared into the blood-red eyes of my would-be captor.

Demetri.

"Long time no see, Demetri. How you been?" I asked casually, as I tightened my grip.

"There's no need for that sort of welcome, Bella," he gasped out, his head ballooning comically out of the fist of my hand.

"Well when I come home to find an unwelcome visitor in my flat, I kinda get annoyed," I said, pointedly tightening my grip. "Especially one that has been chasing me non-stop for the past four months."

"Enough," a voice said behind me, and I turned to find Jane, dressed in her usual black, switching a light on behind us.

"Hello, Jane," I murmured, inclining my head, not releasing my grip on Demetri's neck. "No Felix? I'm disappointed."

"He was needed at home," Jane simply said glaring at me.

I sighed. "Jane, stop doing that. It is merely annoying and entirely useless. You have never been able to make it through my shield,"

My powers had only grown over the four months of separation from the Volturi. I had discovered the ability to shield others from mental penetration or attack, expanding my shield like an invisible elastic cover over others. My physical shield could only shield three people at most before I lost control of it, but it was a useful gift. My control was unshakeable. I could go three months without feeding now.

Jane still glowered at me.

"Let Demetri go, Bella. We only wish to talk," she growled. I narrowed my eyes.

"That's a change. Aro finally come to terms with the fact he can't just drag me back to Volterra?" I asked sarcastically. Nevertheless, I loosened my grip on Demetri and let him free. Unconcernedly, I walked to one of the sofas in the room and sat down.

"There's blood if you fancy any,"

"I want none of your animal filth," Jane spat. I rolled my eyes.

"Jane, get with the programme, or have you not seen my eyes lately? I drink human blood. Duh!" I smirked at the look on her face.

"You steal it?" Demetri asked. I nodded. He crossed to the fridge, and pulled out a bag. He threw one to me, and I caught it. He tore his open and took a swig.

"O negative?" he guessed.

"Yeah. AB positive is a little rare on the ground at the moment," I remarked dryly. After a minute I asked, "How did you find me?"

Jane snorted, as Demetri spoke. "Bella, you're not exactly hard to track down, even with your mental shield. You've become feared throughout the vampire community in Europe. They speak of you as some sort of avenging angel whenever some vampire crosses a line and tries to prey on weaker humans,"

"Hmm. Can't exactly blame me when any one of those humans could have been me. I saved a pregnant woman tonight; she could have been me," I sighed, swigging down the last of my blood before I threw the bag into the dustbin.

"The piles of sparkling vampire ash are a dead giveaway as well," Jane shrugged, but I could've sworn I saw something like approval in her malevolent red eyes.

"Oh of course," I muttered sarcastically. "Why are you here?"

Silence reigned, until Demetri broke it, sighing.

"Bella, you need to come back to Volterra," he said quietly. My mind raced. Had something happened to Alicia or Charlie or, God forbid, Aro?

"Everyone's fine, Bella. But we need you," he explained, raising his hands to ward off my questions. No doubt my thoughts had shown on my face. Jane remained silent.

"The Volturi survived without me for over two thousand years, Demetri. Don't tell me its falling apart because of little old me?" I scoffed. Jane growled and jumped forward before Demetri could open his mouth.

"You truly have no idea, do you? Ever since you left, Aro has all but fallen apart!" she exploded angrily. I stared at her.

"This is Aro we're talking about, right?" I muttered. Jane growled again before Demetri placed his hand on her shoulder calmingly.

"Bella, what Jane's said is true to an extent. On the surface Aro is as he has always been, but within…" he shook his head. "He needs you. Alicia and Charlie need you too,"

I watched the two Volturi guards closely as I thought. In truth my mind had already been made up.

"Aro sent us to bring you back, once and for all," Jane said. I stiffened; I would not jump through Aro's hoops, like the young girl I had been. I would return to him, but at my own volition.

In reality, every day I had been away from Aro had been agony. A hole had torn itself through my torso, and it burnt constantly with longing for my love and my children.

"Then I'm sorry to disappoint him, but I'm not coming back with you," I murmured, already turning away dismissively. Jane growled, but Demetri held her back.

"If that is your final decision, Bella?" he asked. I nodded, still with my back to them both. "Jane, wait in the car."

"You don't command me, Demetri!" I heard Jane snarl, but instinctively I threw my mental shield out over the vampire, so he could not be harmed.

"Beware Jane. I'm not the weak mortal I once was," I murmured, sparing them a dismissive glance over my shoulder. Sullen, Jane slumped out of the apartment, leaving Demetri and I alone.

"Very clever, words, Bella," he murmured appreciatively.

* * *

"Is what Jane said true? Is Aro…?" I faltered, trying to keep my voice steady.

"He is not the same without you, Bella. He has become a shell of his former self," he told me gravely. "He needs you, Bella."

"As I need him," I whispered, only to myself.

"My lady," he murmured, stepping up behind me. I turned and he knelt, taking my hand. "You have become a strong woman in such a short time. Return to us, and lead us. I would be proud to serve you, my lady," he kissed my hand.

"I won't say goodbye, Demetri," I sighed, smiling down at him.

"_Au__ Revoir_, Bella," he murmured, and then he was gone. I looked after him, taking a deep breath. I closed the door, and glided back over to the fridge, as I heard the sounds of a car fading into the traffic of London.

I took out a bag of blood, and drank it down in one. For a second, I let myself crumple against the fridge door, sliding down it, trembling with suppressed sobs.

The last four months had been agony, a blur of days and nights which had no meaning. But at last, I had the strength to return to him, and to my children.

To be the mother they deserved, the mate he deserved, and the leader they were so certain I could be. _**I**_ wasn't so sure.

After a second the sobs passed, and I could sit up and breathe. I inhaled deeply through my nose, closing my eyes.

_I'm coming, my love. At last._


	25. Bella & Aro: To You I Will Always Return

Italians Do It Better

* * *

_**I hear the wind call your name,**_

_**It calls me back home again,**_

_**It sparks up the fire, a flame that still burns,**_

_**Oh it's to you, I will always return.**_

_**I still feel your breath on my skin, I hear your voice deep within.**_

_**The sound of my lover, a feeling so strong,**_

_**Oh it's to you, I'll always belong.**_

_**Now I know it's true, my every road leads to you,**_

_**And in the hour of darkness, darling, your light gets me through.**_

_**I wanna swim in your river, be warmed by your sun.**_

_**Bathe in your water, cos you are the one.**_

_**Can't stand the distance,**_

_**Can't dream alone.**_

_**Can't wait to see you, yes cos I'm on my way home.**_

_**On my way**_

_**I hear the wind call your name, the sound that leads me home again,**_

_**It sparks up the fire, a flame that still burns.**_

_**Oh it's to you, I will always return.**_

_**I wanna swim in your river, be warmed by your sun.**_

_**Bathe in your water, cos you are the one.**_

_**I hear the wind call your name, the sound that leads me home again,**_

_**It sparks up the fire, a flame that still burns.**_

_**Yeah, I'm on my way home**_

_**Yes I will always return,**_

_**Always return. I've seen every sunset, and with all that I've learned,**_

_**It's to you, I will always, always return.**_

**I Will Always Return- Spirit: Stallion Of The Cimarron, Bryan Adams**

* * *

**Bella's POV**

I stepped off the plane at Florence airport, grateful that they'd used a tunnel for the passengers to disembark to the plane. Outside it was bright day, the sky a perfect shade of cornflower blue, with no clouds to give me cover. I pulled my hood further down my face, readjusting my sunglasses. As soon as I was in the terminal, I flitted into a side passage, away from the passport control and security.

I didn't have a passport.

Jane and Demetri were about half an hour ahead of me, I had calculated. As long as I got something fast, possibly by grand theft auto, I could overtake them on the road. I ran, too fast for human eyes to see, through the airport, until I found a door that would take me back to the main terminal building, into the duty-free shopping. I marched past perfume stalls and tie racks, flicking my hood up until I found a car hire. A second later I rolled my eyes at the rentals on offer, leaving the airport.

My eyes fell on the perfect vehicle, down a back alley.

I smirked and strode towards it.

* * *

Three hours later I was thundering down the road to Volterra, the Tuscany plains flashing past. My borrowed black and silver Kawasaki sped over the tarmac like a panther, its stability and handling beyond the two beaten up old bikes Jake and I had once rebuilt. My skin was hidden from the sun by a black helmet, my leather trousers and boots protecting me from the grit of the road. Looking ahead I saw a black limousine on the road, and I recognised the number plate. I modulated my speed, so it looked less inhuman, and overtook, dodging between a tractor and a rusty old Fiat.

I resisted the urge to wave as I passed the limo. Demetri had to be laughing to himself.

My eyes drank in the golden fields, the walled towns sitting on the summit of the rolling hills like dusky crowns. I was home.

I rolled into Volterra, drinking in the sight of the golden bricks and the red tiling on the roofs. I drove through the narrow streets, ones I'd sprinted through one year and seven months before to save Edward. Reaching a large square, I swerved to a halt, surprising several pigeons that flew up into the air. A pair of old men sitting in a corner of the Palazzo dei Priori playing chess sent me disapproving glares. Seeing a young teenager watching the bike enviously, I threw him the keys, striding past him.

* * *

I was glad of my helmet and full length jacket to hide my skin from the sun, its warmth like sinking into a hot bath.

I inhaled, the scents of woodsmoke and roasting meat, gardenias and freesia; and the scent of human blood flooding my senses.

I headed for a familiar set of wooden doors, ones that would open onto a marble hall, which would lead down into the caverns below Volterra wherein lay the entrance to the citadel.

The tunnels were cool and dark, torches flickering in their brackets. I moved too fast for even vampire eyes to see me, taking the lift down to the basement level where the Volturi's cars were kept. Once there, I flitted across to the service lift that would take me up to the main level, to the throne room.

To Aro and my children.

An imaginary heartbeat in my chest sped up at the thought, as I strode past ostentatious Lamborghinis, gleaming Ferraris, sleek Aston Martins and blacked out limos, in the gloomy basement.

* * *

**Aro's POV**

I sat impatiently in my seat, aware of Caius's and Marcus's respective boredom and eagerness. Of course my youngest brother would support me.

I knew my second brother's boredom was shallow however; ever since we had received reports of Bella's extra-curricular activities he had been impatient to bring her back under the control of the Volturi. I snorted; nothing would or could ever control my Bella.

I affected an air of nonchalance, even whilst I knew Marcus could see through it. He had been pivotal in helping me through these last few months without Bella. Alicia and Charlie had been hit hardest, no matter how understanding Bella thought they'd been.

My children were standing quietly at the side of the cavernous hall, Alicia resplendent in sapphire blue velvet, her dark hair falling naturally in ringlets like her mother's. Just looking at her made me ache; apart from her hair colour, she was Bella's double, in miniature. Four months had seen both of them growing into young children instead of infants. Charlie waited in black, his face serious. He had grown up almost overnight. I would never forgive Bella for that.

I heard the approach of footsteps outside the hall. Only two pairs.

My heart sank, as only Jane and Demetri glided inside. They stopped before me, their heads bowed deferentially.

"Where is she?" I asked. Even I could hear the danger in my own voice. Ever since I had watched as Bella had walked away from me in America, I had been aware of something prowling within me, something primal and possessive. Dangerous.

Heaven help Bella when I caught up with her.

"She has not returned with us, my lord," Demetri said. I stood, walking down the steps towards my two most trusted servants. I put my hand on Jane's cheek, closing my eyes. Seeing her memories.

The atmosphere was tense, like thunder had been bottled up within our towering halls, and was about to explode. It seemed everyone held their breath.

At last, I opened my eyes.

"How…disappointing," I sighed, removing my hand from Jane's skin. That prowling presence growled in frustration and anger.

Then a new and yet old and familiar voice filled the room.

"Oh, because I'd hate to disappoint you, Aro," Bella stepped from the shadows of the doorway. Her lithe form was encased in black leather trousers and boots, a black rollneck, and a linen rain coat, tied at the waist. Her Volturi crest glittered on her chest. She pulled leather gloves off her hands, dropping them into the floor, as she strode across the hall towards us. She had dirt on her face from her journey.

She'd kept her promise to me four months ago.

* * *

**Bella's POV**

I fought back a shiver as I met Aro's eyes. Those same flames I had seen in his eyes last time were back, flickering with an intensity that would devour me. My imaginary heartbeat sped up. He stood there in all his dark glory, and the hole in my chest healed over. I let out a breath of relief.

"Mamma!" an excited squeal met my lips as I turned my head to find a little girl launch herself into my arms. She was dressed in blue velvet, her long dark hair loose and rippling down her back. A boy followed behind her, in a sombre black suit, his brunette curls flopping over his grey eyes.

Alicia and Charlie.

I held my daughter to me, feeling sobs shake my body and hers.

"Ali, my baby," I murmured into her soft hair, letting myself cry freely. I didn't care who was watching. I inhaled her sweet scent, relishing the buzz of her heartbeat against my body. I raised my head, sniffling slightly, to find my son watching us with serious eyes. They bored into mine with an almost condemnatory intensity.

How could I have left them?

"Charlie, my son, forgive me. I should never have left," I murmured, holding out one arm to him. He tensed, then his face crumpled and he rushed into my arms. I cradled both my children close, as they clung to me. "I missed you both so much."

"You said you wouldn't come back to Volterra!" I heard a voice explode angrily. I raised my head, watching Jane stare at me angrily. Instinctively I threw my shield out over the twins, shielding them from her power, even though I knew she wouldn't harm them. She loved them as much as I.

I heard Demetri chuckle, as my eyes flew to Aro, and then back to Jane. "I said I wouldn't come back to Volterra **with you**, Jane. I didn't say I wasn't coming back at all," I emphasised my words, as she growled. I glanced at Aro, trying to see what his reaction would be. His face was cool and blank, unlike his eyes.

Crap, I was in for it.

The thought sent a seductive shiver down my spine.

He walked across to us, his face still so cool, Marcus and Caius rising behind him. I gently disengaged my children's' arms from around my neck and stood, keeping them against me. I refused to lower my eyes from Aro's as he reached us, and Alec and Felix appeared beside the three ancients.

"Hey Felix," I murmured, smiling slightly. The giant had always been one of my favourites.

"Hey, Bells. Looking good," he chuckled. I rolled my eyes.

"Welcome home, sister," Marcus stepped forward, extending his hand. I took it, glad of his friendliness, such as it was. I squeezed it, silently thanking him for his support. Caius watched me appraisingly, as I met Aro's gaze once more.

"You have acquired quite the reputation…sister," he breathed, his haughty drawl in place. "It is well you are back where you belong, so your skills can be put to better use."

"Thanks, Caius…I think," I muttered, inclining my head. I met my lover's eyes, and my world fell away.

* * *

**Aro's POV**

I watched as Alicia left the arms of Heidi to launch herself into her mother's arms. Charlie followed not long after, despite his initial coolness. I could not blame them; indeed it warmed my heart to see my children happy. I could not remain angry at her, instead desire had begun to take hold of me once more. I wanted nothing more than to drag her off somewhere and never let her go again.

But I had my duty to follow first.

Slowly I walked over to them, aware of my brothers gliding by my side, their black robes brushing the floor. Alec and Felix appeared beside us. Bella looked up at us, and I saw the awareness in her eyes, the awareness that sent a flush of heat through my body. I felt as though I were coming back to life.

She stood, graceful and assured, a powerful confidence in her eyes. This was not the Bella I remembered, but a new one. Deadly, beautiful, strong and powerful.

The way I'd seen her in my head, oh so long ago.

I wanted her, immediately. But my brothers and servants were determined to drag my agony out.

"Hey Felix," Bella murmured, smiling fondly. Her hands lay on Alicia's and Charlie's heads.

"Hey, Bells. Looking good," Felix chuckled once. I growled inwardly, planning exactly how I would tear his head off later.

"Patience, brother," Marcus murmured to me, and I could feel his chuckle. I would've growled at him had we been alone.

Over the past four months, I had perhaps experienced something of what Marcus had gone through when Didyme died. I had felt alone and bereft of the vitality that gave me an existence to keep on living. Not even my love for Alicia and Charlie could have eclipsed the pain of losing Bella, no matter how temporary it had been. But in a way, my agony was worse; Marcus knew Didyme was gone forever, that she no longer inhabited the world, but I knew Bella was alive and out there. I knew my Bella was out of my grasp. And that was an untenable situation.

I loved Bella still, and I would never let her go.

Welcome home, sister," Marcus stepped forward, extending his hand. Bella took it, seemingly glad of his friendliness, such as it could be. She squeezed his hand, smiling gently, beatifically. Caius watched my love appraisingly, as her eyes met mine once more, gazing into mine and I could see regret in her eyes.

"You have acquired quite the reputation…sister," Caius breathed, his trademark haughty drawl in place. "It is well you are back where you belong, so your skills can be put to better use."

I wanted to sigh impatiently.

"Thanks, Caius…I think," she muttered, inclining her head, not taking her eyes off mine. Both our breathing stuttered, and I felt myself fall into her eyes.

I held out my hand.

"You must excuse us, brothers, Ali, Charlie. Your mother and I have things to discuss," I said coolly, yet beneath I was a bubbling volcano, poised to explode like Vesuvius.

Duty be damned.

* * *

**Bella's POV**

I shivered as Aro held out his hand to me, his words echoing in my ears. I stared at his hand.

"Bella," his voice was a sighed breath, impatient. He was mentally tapping his foot.

Hiding an amused quirk of my lips, I kissed my children's' hair, hugging them.

"I will find you later, Ali, Charlie," I promised them, before letting them go.

"Heidi, Renata; take the children back to their room," Aro said, and I watched with a yearning heart as they walked out of the hall. After four months I couldn't bear to see them walk away. I had missed so much in my absence; my children were growing up and I hadn't been here to see it. Aro's voice dragged me from my reverie. "Come, Bella."

I took his hand, and allowed him to lead me from the hall, but as we passed Caius I saw a cruel little smirk playing around his mouth.

It sent a ripple of fear through me, as Aro led me towards our rooms.

* * *

**Aro's POV**

The warmth of my Bella's hand in my own, her scent, her beauty pulled me in as we walked at a human pace towards our rooms. I paused before the door to our rooms, as she stopped and looked at me. There was a wealth of questions in her eyes, as mine drifted over her delicate jawline, and her full lips.

After a moment, I handed her through the door, closing it behind us softly. I leaned on the door, holding onto the handle, as I took in her dark beauty, and the self-assuredness that now draped around her like a cloak.

She had become what I once hoped she would be. A leader, a queen. She was mine.

Bella undid the belt of her raincoat, sliding it off her shoulders and throwing it over the sofa arm. The light haloed her form, surrounding her figure with a golden nimbus. She turned to face me, and her stance clearly spoke.

_What next?_

"Aro…?" she began, moving towards me, when I felt something snap. I flitted forward, yanked her into my arms and took her lips. I let the animal within me take over, allowed free rein as I began to sate the furious, angry need that had plagued me for months.

I was barely aware that Bella kissed me back, just as urgent, just as hungry and furious, I was only aware of her soft body in my arms; the reality of her here with me. Forever mine.

Her silky hair under my fingers.

Her strong limbs as she levered herself up in my hold, wrapping her legs around my waist. I slammed her against the wall, sandwiching her between me and the door. Every inch of her pressed against me.

Her tongue boldly teased mine, as she framed my face and kissed me deeply.

Holding her against the wall with my body, I raised my hands to her rollneck jumper. I wanted her skin under my lips again. I tore it open, straight down the middle, so it resembled a v-neck. I wrenched from her lips and fisted my hand in her hair, pulling her head back.

* * *

**Bella's POV**

Aro's mouth on my neck drew a cry from my lips, as I held him to me with my hands, arching into his arms. I could feel the warm air on my skin, as his hand, the one which wasn't keeping my hair prisoner, explored all he knew was his.

This was **not** how I wanted to start. I wanted to talk to him first, and try to get everything off my chest. Everything I needed to tell him, and he deserved to know after all I'd put him through.

I pushed him away, his growl of leashed desire sending shivers down my spine. Looking into his red eyes, I saw there a ferality I had never seen before. Not in him.

It both scared and allured me.

Before he could move, I flitted into the centre of the room, my hands raised calmingly.

"Aro, I want to talk first," I said, my chest rising and falling raggedly. His own was not much better as he stalked toward me, his hair mussed and his shirt hanging open at the neck. Had I done that?

I shook my head clear, as he reached me. I ached for him, burned in a fire ten times as hot as the one that had changed me from mortal to immortal. Four months was a blink of an eye for an immortal, but not for me.

Not for us.

It had been too long, and I needed him and his touch with an almost painful longing.

Suddenly I was spun around, his arms restraining mine, his hot breath on my neck, bare where he'd torn my jumper open. I felt his voice in my ear.

"I don't want to talk," he snarled, as I felt a slight shiver of fear enter my desire, making it spicier and more enthralling. I tried to crane my head around to see his eyes, but he kissed the curve of my neck, and I felt my breath hitch. A moan escaped my lips, as I arched my neck back against him. He turned my head slightly and kissed me hungrily, bruising my lips. I tried to turn, but his arm tightened, and I felt him growl into my mouth. A second later he resumed his attack of my neck, as I closed my eyes and stopped thinking.

* * *

**Aro's POV**

The feel of Bella's soft body sinking against my torso was intoxicating. I wanted nothing more than to rip her clothes off and….

My control snapped.

She'd left me, and I would ensure she would never do so again.

My lips hovered above the place where her carotid artery had once been.

I bit down.


	26. Bella: Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Italians Do It Better

* * *

Pain unlike anything I'd experienced in a long time shore through my senses, as I felt Aro's teeth slice through the skin of my neck. His venom seeped into my dilapidated bloodstream, infusing the scant blood still left in my body.

It felt like I was on fire, as my support suddenly gave way and I slumped to the ground, my knees giving out. I was aware of a sharp keening sound.

That was me.

Every sense was shot, my nerves screaming in pain as the venom seared my dead veins. My hand flew to my neck, as I felt the skin heal over, the venom trapped within my body.

All that was left was a crescent-moon shaped ridge of flesh on my neck. Just like one of Jasper's scars. Aro had left the mark of his teeth in my neck.

I probably deserved it.

Slowly, however, I was aware of the venom fading, the pain dimming to a dull stinging, and I came back to myself. I opened my eyes, unaware that I had even closed them. I was lying face down on the carpet before the fireplace, my hair hanging over my face. Panting, I slowly sat up and raised sore eyes to Aro's.

He looked half-wild, his eyes gleaming red, a hint of my blood around his lips, his teeth bared.

"Why did you leave, Bella?" he asked me calmly, his sophisticated voice belying the savagery I saw in his eyes.

"I had to. I felt like I was losing everything I was, and then I realised I could never go back to who I was. I accepted what I became," I gasped, lowering my eyes, the pain in my neck flaring up again. I hissed, wincing but I was determined to get what I needed to say out. "Every day I was away, I thought of you, and the kids. Staying away was like physical torture, worse than the venom had ever been. Please, Aro!"

He looked down on me, and I could almost see the ferality dissipate slightly. He moved forward, and his shoes moved into my sightline. I looked up at him, my hair hanging around my shoulders, breathing shallowly through my mouth.

"Why did you come back?" he asked. I had my answer ready.

"Because I love my family more than I love my freedom," I whispered, trying to communicate my love with my eyes. I refused to be afraid of what I felt any longer. Aro had offered me his love, maybe I hadn't been ready or maybe I had just been a coward, but I was ready now.

* * *

Aro sank to his knees, one hand extended. At his touch on my skin, I closed my eyes and leant into his hand, pressing my lips into his palm.

"You won't ever leave my side again, Bella," he murmured. I shook my head in agreement. I wasn't strong enough to stay away, even if I wanted to. "You are mine."

"I never said I wasn't, Aro," I whispered, opening my eyes. "I've been yours since the first time our eyes met, one year and seven months ago."

The last traces of desperate ferality disappeared from his face, as he pulled me into his arms. The pain disappeared finally, at the feel of being back in his arms, back where I belonged. I leant into him, resting my head on his chest.

"Forgive me, my love," he murmured into my hair, his lips brushing across my forehead. I closed my eyes in bliss.

"No, forgive me, Aro. I should never have left you and the kids," I replied softly, feeling grief well up. I had lost four months with my family; how could I ever make that up?

All because of my stupidity and selfishness. Never again.

He tilted my head up, his fingers drifting down my neck until they met the mark he'd inflicted on me. I shivered with pleasure at his touch, the pain gone. It seemed the skin was extra sensitive, because it took all my control not to jump him.

"I love you," he lowered his lips to mine, and we kissed. Unlike our desperate passion of moments ago, this was sweet and tender. I moaned, pulling him closer to me, burying my hands in his long raven hair. It was just as soft and silky as I remembered, and I pulled him down to me.

Our intense, desperate passion resurfaced, and nothing would do until we were once again skin to skin. One in heart, body and soul.

The warmth of the fire washed over us, as I reached up to pull Aro's lips to mine, every inch of skin pressed together as one, my heart full and overflowing.

I was home; at last, I was where I belonged.

* * *

I relaxed as I sank into the hot water of our bath, as Aro's arms came around me and held me. The candlelight gilded the pale marble walls, so we seemed to float in a world of pale golds and flickering shadows.

The warm water soothed any lingering pain from Aro's bite, as I sighed and sank into his arms.

"I missed you," he nuzzled into my ear, my hair cushioning his cheek. I ran my fingers over his muscled forearm, exhaling, feeling as if a weight lifted from my chest.

"The feeling's entirely mutual," I replied, glad to feel his strength wrapping around me once more. I felt his lips caress my newly healed scar, as I shivered and pressed back against him. My sensitised skin felt on fire, as the combination of the warm water and his touch set me aflame.

"I'm sorry for this," he murmured, as I fought to breathe. My head spun, as the pleasure only increased with his lips on my neck. "I lost myself for a moment."

"It doesn't hurt so much now, and besides I deserved it. I should never have left," I whispered, turning around so I could look him in the face. Aro shifted atop me, our lips mere inches from each other.

"You're back now. That's all that matters. Besides I don't fancy holding a grudge for all eternity," he sighed, stroking my face. He looked magnificent in candlelight, the gentle light reflected in his red eyes and raven hair.

"That's big of you," I joked, pulling him down to me for a kiss.

"I'm so proud of you, my Bella," he murmured, before our lips met. I leant back on his encircling arm, my head cradled in the crook of his elbow, as I held him to me, my hands splayed over his back. He broke from our kiss to place heated kisses down my jawline and neck, as I arched, my breath already coming short.

"Careful," I warned him. "Felix will never let us forget it if we have to re-paint the downstairs ceiling. Again."

"I think I can live with that," Aro growled against my neck. I laughed and pulled his head up so I could kiss him. I felt his hands pull my hips against his, beneath the water, and I gasped. "Wait, wait, Aro."

"What is it?" he asked, frowning slightly.

"I just want to try something," I smiled teasingly. I took his hand and placed it over the space where my heart had once beaten, and closed my eyes concentrating.

Over the past few months, I had been experimenting with my mental shield, and I had a surprise for him. I knew what I was going to do, and I had no qualms. At last he could have my soul and my heart as one, and see all I could never tell him, for I would never have the words.

With some difficulty I lifted the elastic cover of my shield away from me, fighting the instinctive recoil as it struggled to fall back into place, my own mind reluctant to leave me unprotected. But slowly I won, so sure in my decision, as I heard Aro gasp. I opened my eyes, smiling gently, my chest heaving with exertion, as he looked down on me with wonder, before he closed his eyes.

Knowing he would hear every thought I had ever had, I focussed on one with all my might.

* * *

_I love you_

* * *

I leaned my forehead on his, my shield growing heavier, until Aro exhaled, and opened his eyes. I let my shield fall back into place with a sigh, my smile growing at the sheer look of shock on Aro's face.

"Bella…I saw into your mind. I heard everything," he murmured, as I laughed.

"A little trick I've been experimenting with, my darling," I told him.

He smiled slowly, before sorrow passed over his face.

"If I had found you sooner, I might have been able to spare you so much pain and suffering," he whispered, kissing my forehead. I shut my eyes, concentrating on the strength of him holding me.

"No, the pain was worth it. I always felt…wrong in the mortal world. I have found my place, with you for eternity," I sighed. I had suffered pain, but maybe if I hadn't I would never have found Aro. I would never have had Alicia and Charlie, and I would not have an eternity with my love. Edward, and the Cullens, had brought me into this world of myth and legend. Aro was the reason I stayed. "And now you know,"

"I do," Aro murmured against my lips, as he took them voraciously, and I surrendered to the passion that overcame us. He raised his head slightly. "Marry me."

I didn't hesitate or shy away this time. I said, "Yes."

Our lips met once more.

We didn't come out of our rooms for three days and nights.


	27. Edward: Reunion

Italians Do It Better

* * *

**Edward's POV**

I sighed as our rented car pulled into the underground garage of the Volturi citadel. This was the last place on Earth I wanted to be right now.

Three weeks ago, Carlisle had received a call from Aro to our home in Canada, asking him to contact the Denalis and any nomads we could, and to hurry to Volterra. Apparently there was trouble in the east of Europe, and the Volturi were worried.

They could go to hell for all I cared.

It had been ten years since I lost her. Ten years since I buried her. Ten years of regret and constant watching by my family to ensure I couldn't run off to the Volturi to die.

Like I would give Aro that satisfaction.

I let out a tiny growl through my teeth, one that had Carlisle and Alice sending me worried glances.

* * *

_Cool it, Edward!_

_We have to tread carefully, Edward. I know how you feel about Aro but we must see what he wants…_

* * *

That last voice in my head was Carlisle. The voice of reason as always. I sighed but acceded, feeling a wave of calm wash over me.

Jasper.

"Thanks Jazz," I breathed, sending him a grateful smile. Emmet elbowed me in the side.

"We'll find a way to pick a fight with'em another time, Ed," he promised me. The death of the girl he saw as his little sister had been a personal affront to him. I sighed at the graphic images in his head, ones I wholeheartedly agreed with.

"Not helping, Emmet," I muttered. He rolled his eyes.

"Sorry," he grumbled, as Rosalie sent him a death glare. She caught my eye, but her mind was strangely blank as we crossed the underground cavern to the service lift. I frowned; Rosalie was usually so shallow, so easy to read.

I shook that conundrum from my mind, as Alice frowned at me.

"What is it?" I asked.

_Something's distorting my perception. I can't see what it is Aro wants with us, or what's going to happen._

I tensed. This was not good. Alice hadn't suffered a lapse in sight since we moved away from those damned wolves.

Just thinking about Forks sent a wave of pain through me, as Jasper inhaled sharply.

"Sorry, Jasper," I mumbled. Even after ten years, I still couldn't quite control the pain I felt. I never would.

* * *

After the news of Bella's…revelation, I had stood as one frozen in ice before coming to my senses. It had been dark by then, and I realised that despite her betrayal, I still loved her. And I couldn't allow her to take the risk of carrying those…monsters alone. I had to help her.

Carlisle, Rosalie and Emmet had returned at this point, and Alice brought them up to speed. Carlisle agreed with me that we should get after Bella and help her. Rosalie and Emmet had remained behind at the house, in case she returned, since Alice's sight had been faulty for some reason. We had raced to her house, but her scent was nowhere to be found. We had returned to the house and retraced her steps, following the scent of her truck, until we reached the border. The one place we could not reach her.

Frantically Carlisle had called Sam, begging to be allowed over the border to find her, worried by what the wolves would do if they discovered what was growing within Bella. They would not let us on their lands but had promised to bring her back to us.

Ten minutes later, Carlisle had received a call.

They'd tracked Bella as far as the cliff top she had once jumped from, but after that her trail disappeared. All they found of her was her engagement ring, her rusted out truck and a pool of her blood. And the smell of vampires, but there was no trail leading away from the cliff top. Sam allowed Carlisle and myself to cross the line. We too had been unable to find any further traces of Bella. We came to the only conclusion we could; she'd been killed by a vampire, or vampires. But where had her body disappeared to? We could only assume it had been dumped in the sea maybe.

We had painted it as suicide for Charlie's sake.

Those had been the darkest days of my life. Not even those few days of madness when I had believed her dead before could compare to this, because this time I had seen the evidence with my own eyes. My Bella was dead and all because I had been too late.

After her funeral, we'd moved away, to deal with the grief that had begun to tear apart our family. Even Rosalie was not totally unaffected.

Never again would I risk my heart, because no-one could compare to her.

* * *

And so ten years had passed, ten years of nauseating concern and worry from my family, ten years of hatred and bitterness for all the Volturi and Aro in particular had stolen from me, ten years of nothing.

We were met by Jane and Alec, both smiling genially at us as we moved out of the lift.

"Buongiorno, Carlisle. It is good to see you again," Alec shook Carlisle's hand, inclining his head to the rest of us. "Shall we?"

"Aro is anxious to see you all," Jane added, smiling angelically. I wanted to tear her head off.

She smiled at me especially, but strangely her mind was closed to me. I tensed; something was not right. Alec was the same, and when Carlisle stepped close to him, I could hear nothing of his thoughts either.

"Carlisle?" I murmured, as Jane's smirk grew wider. My father stepped back, and I breathed in relief.

"What is it, Edward?" he asked, frowning.

"Why can't I hear your thoughts, Alec?" I asked the boy vampire, as he smiled innocently.

"You shall see soon enough, Edward," he said. "This way,"

Mystified and feeling distinctly uneasy, I followed my family and the Volturi twins along the marble passageway. Alec struck up a conversation with Carlisle.

"Could you not contact the Denalis?" he asked. Carlisle nodded.

"I did, but they could not come straight away. They will be here in two days, maybe less. As for the nomads, they were less helpful," he replied. Alec nodded.

"Very well,"

"Why have you called us here, Alec? Or rather why has Aro called us?" Carlisle asked. Alec turned his head, his eyes roaming over Esme, Emmet and Rosalie before returning to Alice.

"Your little psychic couldn't see why? Interesting," he mused. Jane only smirked wider, enough to make my blood boil. I felt Alice tense beside me, Emmet letting free a slight growl, before a calming wave broke over us.

Jasper again.

_Careful, brother. We can't afford to provoke them._

I knew he was right, but I didn't want him to be.

* * *

"Incidentally, did you hear of Sulpicia's death?" Alec asked, turning back to Carlisle. My father's perfect face saddened slightly, a shadow passing over his eyes.

"I am sorry to hear that. Aro and Athenodora must be devastated; I know how close she was to them," he murmured politely. I mentally snorted; that was not the impression I had got the last time I was here.

"Not really," Alec shrugged.

"She committed treason against the coven, she deserved it," Jane added cheerily. She turned her smile on me once more, but she wasn't trying to hurt me with her gift. I couldn't hear what she doing.

I couldn't hear her thoughts.

She laughed at my face, causing my family to look at me worriedly.

"How are you doing this, Jane? How are you blocking me?" I asked, really unnerved now. Jane's gift was pain, not a block. Only one person could do that to me, and she was long dead.

"You'll see," she said, as they stopped before a wide set of double doors, ones I recognised instantly. I froze.

I could hear nothing beyond the doors, at least not the thoughts I should be.

Nowhere could I find the mental voices of Aro, Caius, and Marcus.

This did not feel right.

And also I could hear two heartbeats, buzzing as fast as a hummingbird's might. Their thoughts were shrouded too.

"Edward?" Carlisle turned to me, Esme by his side.

* * *

_What is it, son?_

_I hope he's alright with this, after all that's happened_

* * *

"Esme, I'm fine, and Carlisle….I can't hear anyone's thoughts in that room," I murmured, trying to get across my worries. His eyebrows shot up.

"Ah...I see. But how…?" he muttered to himself. Alec cleared his throat pointedly.

"Our masters and mistress wish to see you urgently. Shall we?" they gestured to the giant doors.

Mistress?

I took a deep breath, and followed my family into the lions' den.

The first thing I registered when I walked in was that I still could not hear Aro's, Caius's or Marcus's thoughts. The mundane, predictable thoughts of Felix and Demetri, Renata and Heidi yes, but the important ones, no.

Suddenly Jane's and Alec's thought became audible to me once more as they took their seemingly habitual places at the side of the massive hall.

The hall of the Volturi had not changed in ten years. The same monolithic structure it had been.

I lowered my eyes from the domed ceiling and froze.

Not everything was the same.

* * *

There were four thrones standing on the dais now. Caius and Marcus sat a little way back, as they always did, in their dark robes and modern clothing. Marcus seemed as bored as ever, but Caius watched us approach with eager cruelty in his eyes.

Aro sat watching us with the same eagerness, minus the cruelty, draped elegantly in his chair, in his usual black suit. And beside him…..

I couldn't believe my eyes. As one we all drifted to a halt, as Alice gasped and I saw surprise and disbelief rise on all our faces, even whilst the amused and jeering thoughts of the Volturi guard erupted around us. I zoned them out, all I could see was the occupant of the fourth chair.

It was Bella….

She sat beside Aro, her arms draped elegantly over the armrests of her chair, her legs crossed gracefully. Her skin gleamed like a pearl in the dim light, her long dark hair loose around her shoulders. Her features were smoothed over and perfect now, her once brown eyes transmuted into ruby orbs. Her slender figure was encased in a long dress, silk and lace, in the deepest shades of black.

Its sleeves began from just below her shoulders, hugging her slender arms, whilst the bodice clung to her torso, dipping down low enough to showcase the gold 'V' pendant resting on her porcelain skin. The underskirt was short, ending at her knees, of plain black silk, whilst an overskirt, slit up the front so the underskirt was exposed; of lace graced the floor around her feet.

_Typical, she has to wait until she's changed to find a fashion sense_

I could Alice's distracted mental grumble but couldn't laugh. I couldn't take my eyes off of her.

Bella was alive!

Then I registered the two buzzing heartbeats, and neither came from her. She wasn't alive.

She was a vampire.

My eyes fell to her hands. One was draped casually over her gilded and carved armrest, her fingers just grazing Aro's, whilst on the other a gold wedding band graced her left ring finger. Looking to Aro, I could see its mate on his left hand.

Pain and anger and violence filled me, as I fought down a snarl.

My family was still standing frozen, staring at Bella. She looked down on us, her lips slightly apart, and she seemed to tremble slightly as her eyes met mine.

Her blood-red eyes.

"Carlisle, my old friend. How wonderful to see you again!" Aro stood, his jovial grin on his face as he bounded down the steps to take Carlisle's hand. His smile deepened, as his eyes wandered over the rest of the family. "Ah Esme! Beautiful as ever. My dear Rosalie! Alice, sweet little Alice! Jasper, Emmet, Edward my young friends, it is a happy day,"

I wanted to tear his head off.

"I assume you have met my wife? Bella, dear, come greet our guests," he continued, looking over his shoulder. Bella stood from her throne, my breath catching at her gracefulness.

"Aro, stop baiting them," Bella scolded him gently, as she glided towards her, and I could barely think the word, _husband_. "It is good to see you all again,"

"Bella…?" Esme was the first to speak, as Aro subtly moved out of the way, and my surrogate mother and sister stepped forward to hug her. She hugged them back with equal enthusiasm.

* * *

_How has this happened?_

_Why couldn't I see you?_

* * *

Those were questions I would like answered very much.

"Aro, how…?" Carlisle muttered, standing close to his old friend. Aro chuckled.

"Ten years ago, I received a call an 'anonymous' phone call from someone in the Forks area with some very troubling information. That an old friend of mine," he gestured to Bella, still entwined with my mother and sister, "was pregnant with my child. Naturally I hastened to America and had my guard fetch her somewhere safe. When they found her, she was half-dead from hypothermia," he turned hard eyes on me. "Lucky really, for me, that you did leave her for dead. Shame for you, but winner takes all, yes Edward?"

I snarled, rushing forward at Aro's grinning face, wanting to tear it off. How dare he! I had wanted to help her, despite her betrayal, had rushed to find her. In that moment I didn't care that I would be dead in seconds or that Jane would have me writhing in pain on the floor. He'd stolen what was mine, the only reason I had for living.

"No!" I heard Bella shout, and I saw from the corner of my eye as she interposed herself between Aro and me, her hands raised. Suddenly I was thrown back, as a shield that seemed to be made of clear glass that was as hard as steel, expanded from her palms.

As unbreakable as vampire skin.

"Leave him!" I heard Bella cry, a ring of command in her voice I had never heard before, as the Volturi guard rushed forward. "He is no threat."

"Temper, temper Edward," Aro shook his head on the other side of the shield, as Bella turned on him.

"You, stop baiting him. And you," she turned back to me, glowering at me with red eyes. "Cool it, Edward. I will explain everything to you," this last was to Carlisle and my family, before she turned back to me with sad eyes. "But I won't have you attacking anyone. I'm sorry, Edward."

Slowly, she let her shield drop and Emmet pulled me to my feet, as I stared at my onetime girlfriend.

* * *

She was power incarnate. She stank of it. She was not the same girl I had known in Forks.

* * *

Bella proudly stared me down, still standing in front of her husband, the tension in the air palpable.

I could hear the uneasy thoughts of the guard around us.

"You are much changed, Bella," Carlisle said, moving closer to her. She smiled once.

"Tell me about it," she muttered. Caius suddenly spoke up from his chair, the cruel smile very evident on his lips.

"This is all very touching, but perhaps we should return to business, Aro?"

"Of course. Carlisle, I am sorry I could not explain my summons on the phone. I so hate new technology despite its usefulness," he sighed, returning to his seat. Bella sat back down beside him, settling into her own chair, looking at ease. Looking like a queen.

"Decrepit," I heard her mutter under her breath. Alice snorted, as Aro sent her a narrow-eyed glance. I even thought I heard Marcus chuckle slightly.

"Hush," Aro shook his head, as Bella struggled to straighten her lips. Our eyes met, and she looked away, the levity dropping from her perfect countenance. She just looked sad. "As I was saying, my dear Carlisle, a situation has arisen in the East of Europe. The Romanian coven has arisen once again, and they are moving on Volterra,"

"Why should we care about that?" I growled. All to the good if the Romanians took out the Volturi. I'd egg them on.

"Because, my boy, along the way the Romanians have annihilated three separate covens, all of them quite large and gifted. It is our suspicion that they intend to destroy not just us, but every coven they can find," Aro told us gravely.

"They will start in Europe, and spread across America, never stopping never faltering in their attack. We don't know why they are killing vampires, but we must put a stop to it," Caius added, his voice dropping its cruel edge and becoming business-like.

"I was also wondering if Alice may be able to see something of their plans?" Aro inclined his head at my sister. She eyed the ancient sceptically, before she closed her eyes.

"I can. But their plans are blurry, not yet concrete. Or something is blocking my sight," Alice opened her eyes. "It has happened before."

She nodded at Bella, who looked sheepish for some reason.

"Sorry, that's my fault. We think that maybe my physical shield can sometimes block Alice's sight. Not relating to me, as my shield doesn't protect me, but those it does protect," she tried to explain stiltedly. Alice's eyes narrowed, as Carlisle looked thoughtful.

"Your powers are certainly more than expected, Bella," he murmured.

"May I see your vision for myself, dear Alice?" Aro asked, stepping from his seat and holding his hand out. Slightly reluctantly, Alice stepped forward, Jasper at her side, and set her hand in Aro's. "Interesting," he murmured, as a moment later he released her hand. "Blurred as it was, Alice, it has been helpful. Thank you."

Alice stepped back, surprised at his expression of gratitude. So was I. I was surprised he even asked.

He obviously noticed the surprise, because he chuckled.

"The more time you spend with us, dear Cullens, the more you will see how much darling Bella has changed us. She has had a rather 'benign' influence upon our dusty halls. You would be proud of her, Carlisle," he told us. Bella scowled at him.

"I am sure," my father replied, smiling gently at her.

"She has become quite the diplomat for our coven. Just last month she travelled to Texas with our guard to negotiate a peace treaty between two covens. I think our old friend Maria was rather dazzled by her," Aro continued. We all started. We had heard about that; but not the name of the Volturi emissary.

Bella truly had changed beyond recognition.

Suddenly Aro inhaled, and I heard behind us the beat of human hearts. The Volturi's midday snack no doubt. I wanted to let my lip curl in disgust.

"We must finish here, Aro," Marcus sighed from his seat, standing slowly.

"Yes. Bella my love, perhaps you would escort the Cullens to a place of rest, where they can find some refreshment better suited to their tastes? Take Alicia and Charlie with you," he said, his head turned to her. She smiled at him, and it sickened me.

"Of course," she murmured, standing so gracefully. What had happened to that klutzy, clumsy teenager I had loved?

Aro raised her hand to his lips and brushed a gentle kiss across her fingers, before she glided back down the steps toward us. Suddenly two people appeared at her side, and I saw the source of the two strange heartbeats in the room.

* * *

One, a young woman, taller than Bella, met my eyes as she followed us from the room. I could not hear her thoughts.

Her eyes were a deep, radiant shade of chocolate brown.

Bella led us down numerous hallways of marble until we reached what I assumed were her rooms, her long dress sweeping around her; only adding to her grace and beauty.

My gaze fell once again on the two young adults that followed us. There was a boy and a girl.

The boy, Charlie I discovered from his thoughts, had short brown hair that was like rippling brown waves of velvet, framing a handsome face. It was slightly darker than his sister's, again gleaned from his thoughts, a darker shade of beige. Deep grey eyes watched us all seriously from beneath classical eyebrows. He was dressed in a suit of deep grey, almost black, a golden Volturi crest around his neck.

The girl, whose thoughts I could not hear, had a complexion that could have been made from alabaster, were it not for the rosebud bloom of blood beneath her cheeks and in her full lips. Her eyes, Bella's eyes, often flicked to me and then roamed the others. She had a slender figure, and long raven waves of hair fell loose down her back, pinned only at the sides. Her slender figure was encased in a black dress, short at the knee, moulding perfectly to her body, her own Volturi crest nestled on her chest. She was hauntingly beautiful.

Perhaps sensing my scrutiny, the girl turned her gaze back to me, and I drowned in deep brown once more.

"I'm Alicia, and this stuffy old plank is my brother, Charlie," she suddenly said, slowing her pace to walk beside me. I saw a slight smile on Bella's face as she led us further into the Volturi's halls.

"Nice to meet you," I mumbled politely.

"I am not a stuffy old plank," I heard 'Charlie' mutter as he followed Bella.

"You can read minds can't you?" she asked suddenly, her expression thoughtful. There was a surprising amount of intelligence in her brown eyes.

"Usually," I replied. "But not with you. You're closed to me."

"Hmm, just like Mamma. My father can't read my mind either," she seemed to sink into her own thoughts at this, as I digested this new information.

Of course, Bella's children.

* * *

At last we reached a set of double doors, and entered in. The cavernous room we stood in was plush and luxurious with cream sofas and gold chandeliers. Bookcases lined the walls, and I could smell animal blood in the carafes that dotted the room.

"Drink. I had lion blood flown in for you," Bella gestured to the carafes, crossing to one that was rimmed with silver. I could smell human blood.

Bella filled a goblet and drank deeply, before placing it on the side. She slowly turned around, looking like she was deep in thought. More now than ever I wished I could see into her mind.

"Ali, Charlie go to your rooms," she murmured. Charlie disappeared without a word, sending me and my family wary glances before he left the room, but Alicia lingered.

"Mamma…" she said her uncertainty plain to see.

"Go, Ali. Take these, go for a ride," Bella said, snatching up a set of keys that were on a sideboard and tossing them to Alicia. She caught them expertly. She certainly hadn't inherited Bella's lack of co-ordination.

"All right! See you later," she disappeared out the door, smiling widely.

"Don't tell your father! And don't go too fast and crash into a brick wall again!" Bella called, before she shook her head fondly.

"I won't," I heard dimly, before the sound of her bizarre heartbeat and footsteps disappeared.

* * *

Slowly again, Bella sat down and looked up at us, still standing and staring at her.

"I'm sure you must all have many questions, but first of all, let me say how sorry I am for this. I never meant for you to find out I was still alive like this, let alone that I'm a vampire," she said, exhaling slowly. Carlisle was the first to sit down, as Esme followed suit. Alice immediately rushed to Bella's side, hugging her desperately. Jasper followed with a weary smile. Rosalie and Emmet sat beside Esme and Carlisle. I alone remained standing.

"Why couldn't I see you? After you had the babies and became a vampire?" Alice asked, a frown on her pixie face.

"I don't know. Maybe because you thought I was dead, you subconsciously deleted me from your radar?" Bella asked with a smile. Alice tilted her head, thinking it over.

"Hmm, possible I suppose." Alice concluded after a moment. After a moment her face fell. "Why didn't you phone us and tell us you were alive? Bella, I thought you were dead!"

She winced. "I know and I'm sorry. You have no idea how hard it was to find a phone in this place, before I arrived. Talk about stuck in the past," she mock grumbled, before her face became serious. "I don't know, I guess I was…scared."

"What of…? Hang on," Alice stopped Bella from answering, raising her hand, her eyes blanking. I saw her vision and nodded.

She was right there.

Predictably Alice didn't react the way I would have. "Oh Bella!"

She threw her arms around her back-from-the-dead-best friend.

_Stop being so superior, Edward. You have no idea what she's been through!_

Sometimes I wondered if my little sister could read my mind.

"You're so stupid! I love you no matter how much hurt you think you've cost this family!" Alice said, as the confused expressions on Esme's, Carlisle's and Emmet's faces cleared. Jasper chuckled.

"Oh, Bella. You will always be a daughter to me, no matter what," Esme cried, rising from her seat and hugging the younger vampire. Bella hugged her close, her eyes going to Carlisle and the others.

"Forgive me, Carlisle. I brought so much hurt and pain to the family, I…." she trailed off, looking down. Carlisle got up and knelt in front of her as Esme moved to sit on the other side of her.

"Bella, yesterday I believed you dead. Now I see you alive and happy. My heart is healed to see you like this. It's a miracle," he said, a gentle smile on his face. I stared at them all.

Were they mad?

Bella had betrayed us with Aro. Betrayed me. And I still loved her.

I had hoped my remaining siblings would support me on this one, but Jasper placed his hand on Bella's shoulder.

"It is good to be able to touch you without wanting to kill you all the time," he murmured jokingly. Bella smirked, as she looked up at him. Her hair fell to the side, I saw the raised ridge of flesh on her neck.

A bite scar.

We all gasped, but Bella ignored it.

"Thanks Jazz," she whispered, squeezing his hand.

Emmet was the next to betray me. "You're still my little sis,"

Rosalie stood behind Bella, her mind blank, her beautiful face smooth and veiled.

"I'm glad you're not dead, Bella,"

I couldn't take much more of this.

"How can you just forgive her like that? She betrayed our family," I exploded angrily. "She's turned into the very thing we were afraid she would! A murdering animal!"

I wanted to make her feel every inch of pain she'd made me feel.

Her face darkened, as she stood in the midst of my family.

"Edward, I am no murderer…"

"Don't try to lie, Bella! We can all see your red eyes!" I cut across her, crossing my arms.

"I do drink human blood, but I am no murderer. I have never killed a human," she said calmly. We all stared at her.

"How then, Bella?" Carlisle asked, his eyes on her ruby eyes.

"I drink bagged blood. We buy it in from hospitals. Alicia and Charlie drink it too," she told us.

"But how? Newborns are uncontrollable," Jasper asked, frowning. Bella looked uncomfortable.

"I kinda wasn't. It was like I had this sort of super-control from day one,"

"Amazing. And your children?" Carlisle asked. "How did you carry them for so long? Every myth of human women carrying vampire children has ended in the mothers dying. What are they exactly?"

"I had to drink human blood during my pregnancy, because I couldn't absorb any human food. Their growth…well they were fully grown babies in the course of one month and Aro could hear their thoughts about three weeks after I found out I was pregnant. It got quite painful," she winced, seemingly remembering something.

"How painful?" Alice asked.

"Ummm….four broken ribs and a broken pelvis. The birth…" she shuddered.

"Alicia and Charlie are half-human, half-vampire, with their own gifts. Charlie can move objects and people with his mind, whereas Alicia has my mental shield and the ability to project images and thoughts into other peoples' minds," she continued.

"Fascinating. They're beautiful," Carlisle smiled at Bella. I felt resentment smoulder, as Jasper sent me a warning glance.

"They are. Do you want to hear their names?" she asked us, a smile dawning on her beautiful face.

"Alright," Rosalie nodded. I stared at her, surprised. A huge smile dawned on her face. And I read her mind.

"It was you," I whispered, comprehension dawning. Everyone froze, as they looked at me concernedly. "You contacted Aro and told him about Bella."

Rosalie straightened, her expression changing to self-righteousness.

"I did. Bella, forgive me," she murmured, looking down on her before facing me again. "But they would have killed Alicia and Charlie. I heard Carlisle and Edward talking before they left to find you. About the twins had to be terminated for your own good. I couldn't let that happen, so I contacted Aro. It was the right thing to do,"

"You…." I growled, lowering myself to spring, but that same glass-like shield exploded from Bella's palms as she glared at me.

"Edward, stop it! I won't have you harming her. She thought she was doing the right thing," she snarled at me, frowning direfully.

"If it wasn't for her, we could have helped you! You could have….I….." I trailed off, not wanting to finish the sentence. If Rosalie hadn't intervened, Bella would still be with me. My wife, not Aro's.

"By killing my babies? You need to drag your head out of your arse, Edward, because not everything is about you!" she muttered, growling. I backed down, shocked by the vehemence behind her words.

"Sit down, Edward," Esme said softly, as I stared at her. Her big golden eyes pleaded with me, as I recognised Jasper working his magic.

_Please, Edward, just listen to what she has to say_

I did as she said, sitting as far away from her as possible.

* * *

"Go on, Bella," Esme said, turning her smile on. "What are the twins' names?"

"Well… Alicia Rose Isabella Renee Swan and Charles Eduardo Vladius Jacob Swan. Aro doesn't have a surname, so we just used mine. I thought I'd use some of yours, so I would always have you with me," she whispered, looking down. If she'd been human she would have been blushing.

"They're beautiful," Esme said, touching her cheek. "I'm so glad you alive, Bella."

"Likewise," Bella murmured, as Alice and Rosalie clustered close.

"I can't imagine what you had to go through," Carlisle said. I stared at them all.

How could they accept Bella back into their lives and their hearts so easily? After all she'd put us through?

"I'm so sorry, all of you. I know I betrayed the family, and I hate myself for it. That's part of the reason why I never tried to find you. I thought it would be better if you thought me dead, after what I'd done to you. Especially to you, Edward," she turned her head to me, and I struggled to remain aloof from her.

I looked away, unwilling to give away my feelings. I heard her sigh.

* * *

_Stubborn asshole!_

_Poor boy, he must be so confused right now_

_Well at least she's not dead_

_He only cares about himself_

_Edward you can't live the rest of your life in grief; you can move on now_

_Edward, if you need to get away, go._

* * *

That last was Carlisle, and I was grateful for his understanding. Alice and Rosalie would never understand.

Emmet and Jasper were right; at least she wasn't dead, and now I could move on, knowing she was alive and happy. How she could be happy with Aro I didn't know.

I didn't want Esme's pity.

I nodded to Carlisle, and rose.

"I have to get some air," I muttered to Bella, who nodded, her eyes sad.

The red eyes of a predator.

"You will be at the ball tonight?" she asked. We all stared at her.

"What ball?" Alice asked, her eyebrows knotting playfully as a sly expression crept over her face.

"The St. Marcus Day ball. It's the one time the city is truly safe from us, and the one time we mingle with the humans. Any vampire caught feeding is punished, anyway please say you'll come," she pleaded, a hopeful look on her face. "It'll make it bearable at least."

I remembered well how much Bella hated parties and balls. How much she'd hated prom.

I nodded once, as Alice exploded with glee and joy.

I ran.

"But I've brought nothing to wear!"

Despite the inner turmoil I felt tearing me apart, I couldn't help but chuckle at Alice's squeal.


	28. Edward: The St Marcus Day Ball

Italians Do It Better

* * *

I wandered through the halls of the Volturi, torn apart inside. One part of me was overjoyed to see Bella alive; another was crushed by her betrayal. Why couldn't she have found me?

I emerged into the underground garage and breathed in the pure air. I needed a clear head.

A sound caught my attention, as my head turned towards it, and the sound of a buzzing heartbeat reverberated in my ears. From the lack of thoughts tumbling into my ears, I guessed it was Alicia.

"Dammit!" I heard her swear, as I rounded the corner. I saw a black curl bounce above the level of a shiny Aston Martin DB9, as I moved around it. What met my eyes was certainly not what I expected.

Alicia was bent over a black and silver monstrosity of a motorcycle, its innards splayed out across the floor. Alicia was clothed in bike leathers, a grey scarf wrapped around her neck, her helmet sitting beside her.

"_Bastardo!_" I heard her swear in Italian, standing up and kicking the bike with her booted toe. "Dad is so going to kill me!"

"Why is he going to kill you?" I asked, leaning back against the hood of a car, crossing my arms. She spun around, startled.

"That's very rude of you. What are you, some kind of sneak? Do you make a habit of watching young girls from the shadows?" she asked, one fine eyebrow arched. She crossed her arms in a pose too reminiscent of her mother for my liking.

She was Bella, and yet she wasn't. The eyes that watched me piercingly had a confidence Bella hadn't possessed as a human. Her long black hair and confident manner echoed her father, but there was also an amused gentleness in there too.

"I do apologise, my lady," I mock-bowed. She giggled, and as I rose from my bow I caught myself. Was I flirting with her?

I mentally scrambled back to my cool composed self, as she sighed over the remains of her bike.

"Dad is going to kill me," she muttered.

"Why is he going to kill you?" I asked, settling back into my perch on the car. Right now, any distraction from the emotional confusion was welcome.

"Because he banned me from riding my bike in the town after I crashed into a brick wall. No-one got hurt," she added hastily, as my eyebrows rose. "But now I've cracked the brake shaft after going over a particularly nasty pothole, and he'll know. He always does," she rolled her eyes.

There was an Italian lilt to her voice, making her voice musical and rich.

It seemed she was a rebellious one. Not many people would knowingly disobey Aro, but then again she was his daughter.

At that remainder, my bitterness returned.

"That sounds like your…father," I spat out, glowering at the wall, unable to look at her. I sensed her turn her head to me, and her curious gaze.

"You don't like my father," she remarked, but there was no question in her tone.

"State the obvious much?" I muttered. She shrugged.

"Not often. But why do you dislike my father so much? He is a better man than many give him credit for,"

"You would say that. He's your father," I pointed out.

"Yes, he is and I love him. But I'm not blinded by that, I see his faults as well. But you have to love all of a person, or there's no point to loving anyone,"

I looked away.

A wind blew through the garage at that point, as a seductive scent filled my nostrils. It was Bella's scent, the scent of her blood, except this time I felt no thirst. It wreathed my senses, ensnaring them as I turned my head to its source.

Alicia.

She truly was her mother's daughter.

"I'll ask Rosalie to take a look at it, if you like," I suddenly offered. What was I doing? "She's quite the mechanical whiz."

Mechanical whiz? I sounded like some juvenile schoolboy with his first infatuation.

"Thanks," her face brightened up, as she turned towards me. That delicious smell intensified. Her smile dimmed slightly.

I had to be scaring her.

But I couldn't help myself as I stood and reached out one hand to touch her cheek. Her eyes widened, but she didn't move.

"You smell incredible," I whispered, my eyes locking with hers. Chocolate brown, deeper than the sea.

"Is that good or bad?" she asked me, her face trembling slightly. Her lips were slightly parted.

"Good," I assured her, "You smell so delicious, but I'm not thirsty. I don't want to kill you,"

"Oh well, that's good to hear. That you don't want to kill me, that is," she babbled, as my hand neared her skin. Our eyes locked.

"Alicia!"

The moment was interrupted, as Alicia moved back, chagrin appearing in her eyes.

"Now I'm in for it," she moaned. "Coming, Dad!"

She moved back from me, as I lowered my arm, feeling like an idiot.

What had just happened?

"I'll see you at the ball tonight?" she asked me over her shoulder as she walked out of the garage.

"Sure," I muttered, still standing by her bike. The clatter of her boot heels on the marble faded away, as I stared into space.

Slowly my fist, the hand that had almost touched Alicia's skin, clenched.

Now I was confused.

* * *

I stood in the grand hall of the Volturi later that night. It was early evening outside, and within the candles threw a gentle light over the cold marble from crystal chandeliers and gold candelabras. It glinted off crystal decanters of human and animal blood, and the gold jewellery of the assembled vampires.

I'd found a suit, but I hadn't found any of my family as I stood in the crowd. My head was crowded with so many voices.

Looking up I saw a scene from one of Carlisle's paintings back home. The three Volturi leaders, with Carlisle behind them, stood looking down on the ball below. It had just started to get into full swing, as couples waltzed around the floor.

I recognised Liam and Siobhan from the Irish coven, standing to one side of the dance floor, gentle violin music playing in the background.

Demetri was dancing with Heidi.

Jane and Alec stood by the stairs, awaiting their masters.

Again my eyes were drawn to Aro and the two other leaders, standing talking genially with Carlisle. I couldn't blame him, and I wouldn't hold it against him.

Caius and Marcus were clothed in corresponding suits of blue and black, covered by their ceremonial robes. Aro was the darkest of them all, in a suit of pure black, his Volturi crest starkly visible against the expensive material. Carlisle was dressed in a black tuxedo, chuckling at something Aro said to him. Over the noise, I couldn't hear whatever it was.

Aro was smiling amusedly down at the crowd, his hands resting on the marble balustrade of the balcony. His eyes rose, and his face brightened as pride and admiration crossed his face. I followed his gaze, my heart sinking.

* * *

On the other side of the hall, on an identical balcony, stood a phalanx of Volturi females. I could see Rosalie, Esme and Alice amongst them.

And Bella.

Bella was clothed in a gown of blood red silk. It was off-the-shoulder, exposing her alabaster skin, the bodice clinging to her waist and flaring from her hips in a waterfall of silk. The whole thing was overlaid in black lace, matching the black pearl choker around her neck. Nestled in the valley between her breasts was her Volturi pendant. Her long hair was pinned up, except for one ringlet that trailed down over her shoulder, in a style that was decidedly old-fashioned.

She looked like a princess.

Behind her I recognised Athenodora in a sapphire blue silk empire gown, her blonde hair swept up into a chignon, white pearl earrings and a pearl necklace complementing the Volturi necklace she wore. Bella said something to her in an aside, and they both laughed. I saw Rosalie talking with Renata, both gowned in deep gold but Rosalie was the obvious superior in a dress that exposed her exquisite figure, the bust dipping down low enough to show her navel. She of course wore diamonds around her neck and in her ears, her blonde hair hanging in ringlets around her shoulders.

Esme was clothed in lavender, the gown clinging to her in all the right places, her long caramel hair restrained into a princess bun at the base of her nape. Opals gleamed in her ears and around one of her wrists.

Alice was clothed in black and white, geometric cut-outs showing off her pixie-figure. The gown clung to her hips and legs before flaring around her feet. She was clinging to Bella's arm, an animated expression on her face. I saw Jasper behind her in a tuxedo, watching over his wife.

Then I saw Alicia standing beside her mother. She was dressed in an emerald green halterneck, small emerald drops in her ears but no other jewellery. Her long raven hair was arranged in shimmering curls around her shoulders, restrained on one side by a gold hair slide, fashioned to look like a water-lily.

Her long gown hugged her figure, except for a small slit up her right leg. The silk shimmered and gleamed in the candlelight, so different hues of green leapt out. Her arms were covered by black bicep-length leather gloves.

The green brought out the rich hue of her eyes, making them sparkle.

I couldn't take my eyes off the two of them, the mother and the daughter, except the yearning I felt was not quite as strong and as painful as it had been.

My mind went back to our conversation in the garage, and I hoped she hadn't got into too much trouble with Aro. I also made a mental note to ask Rosalie to take a look at Alicia's bike.

* * *

Suddenly, full of grace, Bella turned and led the way to the staircase. I watched Aro and the leaders move to intercept them, and they descended arm in arm.

I watched as they kissed, tenderly and passionately. I looked away, trying to fight down my disgust and jealousy.

I needed to get away.

I walked outside to one of the balconies, determined to turn my back on the family inside. I didn't want to see Bella's happiness, how transparent it was, nor the love she was surrounded by.

Even I had to admit the Volturi had changed.

_Edward?_

I heard Carlisle's voice, both mental and verbal, and sighed.

"Here, Carlisle," I murmured. A moment later he appeared beside me. I breathed in deeply of the summer air, looking out over the crowds of humans below.

"What is it, Edward?" He asked, stepping up beside me and leaning on the stone railing. I let out a short bark of a laugh.

"How can you ask that? I've just found out that the woman I loved and thought dead is actually alive and married to a three-thousand year old vampire, with whom she's had children. That I've lost her to…._him_, forever. So Carlisle can you really ask me what's wrong?" I snarled, staring out over the Palazzo below.

"Edward…I know you're in pain, but can't you see the good in this situation? Bella is alive, when we thought her dead, she's happy, and the girls are happy, and we've discovered a new miracle. Alicia and Charlie are…astounding. They're only ten years old but their mental and physical development is beyond anything I have ever seen. I…" he shook his head. I sighed.

Typical Carlisle. I couldn't fault him for his compassion and his optimism. His determination to see the good in the situation.

"Carlisle, I really don't care about the twins. The whole lot of them can go to hell for all I care," I muttered, refusing to look at him. I could hear the disapproval in his mind.

"Edward, you have to let her go. You can't live the rest of your life in bitterness," he whispered, before he left my side.

"Yeah? Watch me," I growled under my breath, glad to have my space back. I inhaled slowly.

I could see Carlisle's point, despite my bitterness, because I knew Bella.

* * *

Marcus was the wisdom of the Volturi, Caius its justice and zeal, Aro its brains and strength. But Bella had brought something else to that mix: compassion and love.

* * *

"Edward?" I heard her voice and I tensed.

"Bella. Or is it your majesty now?" I muttered sarcastically. I heard her sigh before she stepped up beside me.

"Carlisle looked upset when he came back in. I wondered if you had argued?" she asked, and I struggled to ignore her beauty.

"Did you? Thanks for your concern, but it's misplaced," I murmured. She inhaled sharply beside me. I couldn't tell if it was from impatience or exasperation.

"Edward, this can't go on any longer. I am sorry for all the pain and the regret I must have cost you, and I am sorry that my betrayal caused so much….hurt. But you need to understand I cannot and will not regret my actions or the consequences of those actions. I gave myself to save your life, and I have never regretted it…" she told me imperiously.

"No, because now you have the entire vampire world under your thumb, and the Volturi to boot. You're not the woman I thought I loved," I snarled, rounding on her. She met my eyes steadily, no sign of anger showing on her exquisite face.

"No, I'm not. I have killed to protect those I have loved, and I have seen the darker side of myself. But you were never interested in whom I truly was, Edward, only in what _you_ saw. At least Aro loves me for who I am, the good and the bad. As I love him," she murmured softly. I shook my head.

"All these years, I mourned for you, Bella. I love you," I whispered. She flinched.

"You abandoned me, Edward. When I needed you most, you weren't there. I know I walked away, but I needed you. I needed you to stop me," she muttered.

"I came after you," I said, turning to face her, my hands rising. She moved back.

"You were too late. I love you Edward. I always have and always will, or some part of me at least. But I love Aro more," Bella said forcefully. "You said once if I wanted to move on, you would let me go. If I wanted something more…."

"Yes, I did, but not like this. Aro isn't more than me, he's… he's turned you into a monster like him" I gestured forcefully. Aro was an evil, power-hungry and tyrannical bastard. How could she love him?

"How dare you? I am no monster, Edward. I have accepted what I have become, maybe you should too. And you know nothing about him, Edward. He's arrogant and possessive and manipulative, but underneath it all, he's loving and tender and protective. He's a good father, and he helps me to cope with all the darkness I have in me. The darkness you never saw, Edward. I love him," she finished on a whisper. I turned to face her, and saw the earnestness in her eyes. I felt something within me break.

I could never win back her love, and yet neither would mine die. But maybe I could still have her nearby, in my life in some form. I would try to be happy for her.

"Well, then, I guess I have to let you go," I finally murmured in agreement. I reached for her hand and kissed it gently. "Be happy, Bella. It is the least you deserve,"

She smiled, as something I hadn't known was broken in her eyes healed before me.

"Thank you, Edward," she whispered.

* * *

We lapsed into silence, as we both turned to look out over the bustling Palazzo below, as the humans danced and laughed without any idea as to the supernatural drama unfolding above them.

"I heard you talked to Alicia," she said, looking down at her perfect hands. I smirked.

"Yes. She's a lot like you," I replied finally. "She's just as stubborn and as undermining of her father's authority."

"Ahh yes, the motorbike incident. Aro wasn't too happy about that, not that Alicia cares," Bella laughed once.

"She's free-spirited, alright. Again a lot like you," I inclined my head, smiling slightly.

"You don't…have feelings for her, do you?" she asked me, her face sobering.

"No. She's too much like her mother for me to ever like her more than a friend. Besides it's too soon, for me to love again," I whispered, before I smirked. "A girl broke my heart, you see."

"Oh…well this girl obviously didn't know what she had, or how lucky she was," Bella said jokingly.

"No, she was far too good for me. She's happily married now," I became serious once more, as that familiar tidal wave of pain rose. But it did not overwhelm me.

"I am truly sorry, Edward," Bella placed her hand on my arm and I squeezed it gratefully.

"I'm glad you're happy, Bella. To be honest, a part of me suspected all along. I knew Aro wanted you from the moment you met in Volterra," I told her. I remembered those thoughts of Aro's all too well.

"I don't understand," she frowned at me.

"Remember when I once told you that I felt like there was a line behind me, jockeying for position, waiting for me to make a big enough mistake, and how I said some of the names at the top of the line would surprise you? I knew then he wanted you for himself," I explained. She looked down, embarrassed.

"Oh." Bella murmured. We walked on in silence, until I had to break it.

Tell me, do Alicia and Charlie know about our families'…history?" I asked her. We left the balcony and began to walk down the loggia.

"No, we've never told them. Perhaps we should," she mused, her familiar frown on face.

"Maybe. I'm sure Charlie and Alicia would be confused by my earlier reprehensible behaviour," I said, clasping my hands behind my back.

"Edward, your behaviour was no more or less than I expected. I was terrified you might go too far, and Aro would have you killed. I know Caius particularly wished for that outcome," she sighed, as we passed another door into the ballroom.

* * *

Inside, I saw Alicia waltzing in the arms of Aro. Her eyes drifted to Demetri, dressed in a dark suit, standing at the sidelines with my brothers. I saw the look in her eye and the look in his, despite the gap between them.

"Tell me, does Alicia have feelings for Demetri?" I asked Bella. We paused by the doors, and she sighed.

"I think so, but she always denies it. Even to her father. As for Demetri, he has never verbally acknowledged any feelings he has, but I am sure something is there. The problem is that he sees himself as a servant to us, and Alicia is his princess. I think he thinks there is a line he cannot cross," she explained.

"What about their ages? Alicia is only ten years old and Demetri two hundred years old," I pointed out. Bella nodded.

"There is that. But emotionally, physically and intellectually, Alicia is the equivalent of a thirty-year old with an IQ of 160. She's too clever for her own good at times, she joked, a sad smile on her face.

"Hmm, maybe I can help with your problem, Bella," I mused. She turned to me, surprised. I chuckled, mock-offended. "What? Who do you think got Ben Cheney and Angela together in junior year?"

"Cocky vampire. We'll see," she said.

"Bella?"

At Aro's familiar voice, Bella groaned. "Here we go."

"Still hate dancing, huh?" I asked, smirking. She closed her eyes, letting out an exasperated breath.

"At least I'm not as clumsy as I used to be. It makes it a bit less painful," she muttered.

"She's over here, Aro," I called, knowing he would hear me. The Volturi leader turned to us, as Bella hit me on the shoulder.

"Just sell me out, why don't you? I'll get you back one day," she growled playfully.

"I'm quivering with fear, your majesty," I swept her an elaborate bow. She glared at me, before flouncing away to her husband.

I propped my shoulder against the doorjamb and watched the couple waltz around the floor. They were perfectly matched, each movement in excellent synchronisation.

_Edward?_

At Esme's gentle murmur in my mind, I turned my head to her. Her eyes spoke for her.

"I'm alright now," I whispered, before turning back to the dance floor. "Shall we?"

She smiled, as I twirled her into my arms and lost myself in dance.

* * *

"Carlisle, explain to me this concept. Baseball, what is it?" I overheard Aro asking my father later that evening. I smirked, as Alice's eyes went blank.

"Ooh, let's do it!" she punched the air, smiling widely. I rolled my eyes at Jasper, who grinned.

"Do what?" Felix asked, one eyebrow raised. In the background, I heard Carlisle explaining the rules of baseball to the three Volturi leaders, as I debated the vision in Alice's head.

"Fancy a challenge?" I asked Emmet. He grinned and slapped my shoulder.

"Definitely. Bring it on," he growled before he faced Felix. "Fancy a game of baseball?"

My gaze flew to Bella, standing beside her husband and daughter, her son in the background. She groaned, and buried her face in her hands.

"Men," she muttered, as Aro looked intrigued by the prospect, and Felix; Alec and Demetri all grinned.

"This is going to be amusing," Demetri smirked. "You're on."

"Sweet. We'll beat you into the ground," Emmet growled, as Jasper smirked winningly.

"I wouldn't be so sure, Cullen," Felix said confidently, as his eyes swept over Emmet. This was going to be funny.

"We'll see about that," I put in, smiling lopsidedly. I saw Bella's eyes twinkle as she regarded her family speculatively.

"Now that is something I would like to see; you playing baseball," she joked to Aro, leaning in close to him. He shook his head.

"Oh no, not me. I think I'll leave that to the younger crowd. I'm too old for games," he said.

"Old my foot," Bella snorted under her breath. "You certainly don't act three thousand years old."

"As you have first-hand experience, my darling, I concede to your greater…experience," Aro retorted. At that point I tuned out his thoughts; I really didn't want to know.

Bella would have been blushing if she'd been human. Innuendoes had been Emmet's favourite weapon to tease her with.

Our eyes met, and I grinned, as she shifted uncomfortably under everyone's' amused gazes.


	29. Bella & Alicia: Heart, Body And Soul

Italians Do It Better

* * *

I whirled around in my husband's arms, my red gown swirling around from our movement. I sighed with happiness.

Tonight had been a night of joy and family. I had been reunited with my old family, and still had my new one. I had my husband and my children. I had my surrogate mother and sisters back, as well as my brothers. I had the largest family in the world now.

"What are you thinking now?" my husband watched me through deep crimson eyes, as I stared back into them. I smiled, matching his slow, sensual grin. The one that could still send shivers down my spine.

Around us, couples were still on the floor. As we revolved, I spotted Esme and Carlisle dancing out the corner of my eye.

I smiled teasingly at him, raising one brow. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

He drew me closer, his hold transferring to my arms, twining them around his neck, before settling his arms about my waist. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"You know I hate dancing," I muttered, as we slowed in the middle of the dance floor. He grinned and chuckled.

"That I do. Since you hate dancing so much, perhaps we should retire. Athenodora and Caius can manage here well enough," Aro murmured, pulling my hips against his. I gasped, my eyes fluttering slightly, as our breath mingled, our lips meeting, brushing.

"You need to behave," I muttered, looking around us worriedly. We had guests for chrissake!

"You need to find a room," we heard across the hall, as we both turned our heads. Alicia was dancing in Demetri's arms, his eyes respectfully averted from her face, as she grinned over at us. I could see Alice and Emmet giggling in the background.

I groaned and rested my head on Aro's chest, feeling distinctly uncomfortable. If I had been human, I would be blushing.

Emmet was going to have a field day.

"She needs to mind her own business," Aro growled in my ear, stroking my hair. The feel of his warm breath on my skin had me looking up.

"Hark whose talking, Mr-I-Can-Read-Every-Thought-You've-Ever-Had-With-One-Touch!" I muttered sarcastically. At least we know whom she inherited it from."

"Thank heaven Alicia never inherited my gift. She would be insufferable," Aro replied laughingly. We heard a very distant murmur, as I saw Demetri and Alicia disappear out of the ballroom from the corner of my eye.

"You know you love me!"

* * *

I shook my head at my daughter's cheekiness, as I looked back at my husband.

"She gets that from you, you know," Aro whispered, leaning his head in once more. I shuddered and gently teased his lips with mine.

Maybe she's right. Maybe we do need to get a room," I murmured, before I took his hand and led him from the room.

* * *

Aro pulled me into an alcove, pushing me back into the wall. His lips took mine, enfolding me in his arms. I pull myself closer, twining my fingers into his hair, feeling his hands slide around my waist and down. His lips slid down my neck, and I arched my spine, resting my head against the wall.

"The moment I set eyes on you tonight, I took all my centuries of control not to drag you back to our room. You look ravishing," he growled against my skin, as I felt those words shiver down my body. "I plan on tearing this gown from you, inch by perfect inch."

"Oh no, you don't. I like this dress, you're not destroying this one," I said, teasingly. I pushed him against the opposite wall, pulling myself against him, as we kissed again. "Besides," I said, resting one hand on his silky lapel, "You have so many identical suits to this one, I don't see why I can't do the tearing, darling,"

His eyes narrowed. "Don't you dare, Isabella. I can see your nonexistent concern for fashion and clothes hasn't changed over the past decade,"

"Only when it comes to yours, Aro," I growled playfully, planting a kiss on his neck before pulling away from him. I led the way back to our rooms, crossing across to my vanity the instant I got inside. I took off my pearl choker and released my hair from its restraints. I was dimly aware of the door clicking shut as I met the eyes of my husband in the mirror. They burned with desire and passion, as he crossed to me. Aro took my upper arms in his hands, and planted a hungry kiss on the rise of my shoulder. I shuddered, relaxing back into his torso. I turned my head to face his, my gaze falling on his lips, inches from mine.

Tonight, I had finally been able to place some closure on my past. On my love for Edward. Now I could finally put into words those feelings I had carried for Aro, for the past ten years of our marriage. The mental block whenever I tried to form the words on my lips was gone.

I knew Edward was hurting, that he still loved me, and that hurt. Because of me, he was suffering, just like Jake had done, but now I hoped he could begin to heal. Whatever, now I could look forward to my eternity with my husband and children.

I put my hand on my husband's raven tresses, remembering the day we'd first met. I had been so frightened, every cell of my body knowing that this man would destroy my life as I knew it. And he had done, but in its place, I had been given the world. I had discovered my place in this world.

Looking deep into red eyes like my own, I saw him in his entirety. All the darkness, the hunger for power, the tyrannical need to dominate. All the love, the tenderness, the protectiveness and the possessiveness within him.

Our love was not as most loves. It was so much more than that; it was darkness, obsession and fascination and possession. It was all-consuming.

"I love you," I said simply, pulling him down to me. He smiled down at me, before he replied.

"As I love you, my Isabella," he murmured, before our lips met. I felt his hands drift to my back, quickly and carefully slipping the buttons on the back of my gown from their moorings. My dress slipped down my body, as I felt his lips on my neck, nudging aside my long curtain of hair. His hand slid down my stomach, guiding the dress down inexorably slow. When it was a puddle of red silk around my feet, I turned to him fully and kissed him.

He backed me against the wall, and our minds just snapped. Conscious thought disintegrated.

His suit was nothing but shreds under my hands, my body possessed by him, as he pulled me down beneath him in our bed. I found my wrists pinned against the sheets, as he lowered my lips to mine. I rolled my eyes; he had a thing about pinning me down to the bed, crushed together.

"Domineering control freak," I muttered against his lips, arching against his touch. My skin felt on fire, as I twined my legs around his muscular ones.

"That's why you love me so much," he grinned down at me charmingly, before our lips met, and he took me. Claimed me, as he had claimed me so many years before.

Body, heart and soul…

* * *

Alicia's POV

I breathed in the warm summer air as I stepped out onto the balcony, Demetri at my side. Edward had suggested he take me out to take some air, saying I'd looked a little flushed after dancing for so long. Utter rubbish, of course.

I tried to drive away the heated sensation over my skin from his proximity.

I was just being so silly. I had a childish crush, and I was letting it affect my actions.

"Are you well, my lady?" Demetri asked me concernedly. I turned to face his austerely handsome face, shrouded in moonlight.

"I'm fine, Demetri," I said, smiling once. The look in his red eyes sent my pulse racing even faster than it usually did. Of course he had to notice.

"Are you sure?" he asked, stepping closer to me anyway. The look on his face was solicitous and absolutely infuriating. I didn't want his pity. I don't know what I wanted.

"No," I whispered. What was I doing? "No, I'm not fine, Demetri."

The truth is, I had been in love with the guy for years, ever since I had matured three years ago. I loved him to distraction.

Growing up, I had watched the interaction between my father and mother, the love that was so obvious between them. I knew it hadn't been easy for them; with a shudder I could still remember those four months when my mother had left us clearly. My father had been like a wounded animal, even more dangerous than he usually was, until she'd come back.

When Mum had come back, it was like the sun coming out from behind a cloud. The atmosphere in Volterra had changed overnight.

Demetri had been my greatest comfort in the time without Mum. He'd always found a way to cheer me up, whether it was my favourite flower on my pillow in the morning, a freesia, or reading to me during the evenings.

Demetri pulled me out of my memories, holding out a freesia in his palm. "Perhaps this will make you feel better, my lady,"

I took it, my hand trembling slightly when my skin came into contact with his. I had had to take off my leather gloves hours ago. I heard Demetri's intake of breath, and he moved imperceptibly closer.

"Tell me I'm not the only one who feels like this, Demetri," I suddenly implored him, looking up at his beautiful face. "You do know what I'm talking about, don't you?"

He seemed to pause, before he looked over his shoulder. We were alone on the balcony, everyone else still inside the ballroom.

"I think I do…Alicia," he breathed, his hand just ghosting over my cheek. I shivered at my name on his lips, in his cultured accents. "My love."

I felt everything fall away when he said that. I had watched him for years, loving and admiring him, but always knowing that someone like him would never look at me in that way. It just wouldn't make sense for him to love me.

I was alright looking, but always kinda plain really. I was too pale, my hair too dark, and too tall and gangly. Not a beauty like my mother.

Demetri moved closer, and I nearly collapsed when I felt his hands slide around my waist, pulling me forward. I rested my hands on his chest, my head tilted upwards, lips parted.

He paused abruptly. "I shouldn't, my lady. I'm sorry," he whispered against my lips, before dropping my waist and turning to walk away. I felt my heart drop, before my wits snapped back into place.

"Demetri, wait. Please…" I pleaded, catching his wrist. Why was he doing this? Why had he admitted his feelings to me, just to walk away?

I was pretty sure my father wouldn't be angry about us, and neither would my mother, so why was he always keeping me at a respectful distance?

Just as suddenly, Demetri turned back to me, the light from the chandeliers in the ballroom spilling through the balcony doors striking deep gold tints in his brown hair. His arms slid around my waist, and I felt shivers run through me at his body against mine.

He kissed me.

He cupped my cheek with his gloved hand, softly caressing my lips with his own. I shivered and sank against him. I'd never been kissed before.

The freesia he'd given me was crushed between us, as he educated me in the art of kissing. I guess I was a fast learner because he pulled me closer almost desperately.

His fingers slid into my hair, holding my head still. At the feel of warmth sliding languorously over my lips, I opened them.

Oh my god!

This man could kiss!

It felt like my limbs had turned to jelly, my blood coursing through my veins like fire, my heart racing. I could feel everything.

The weight of his arm around my waist.

The hard, yet satin-soft feel of his lips.

His tongue gently teasing mine.

His fingers holding the nape of my neck tenderly.

Emboldened, I slid my hands up the lapels of his suit, and into his bronze hair. He was colder than me, far colder, but I was heating up even more. His touch burned more than it chilled me.

"Demetri! Demetri!" I heard Jane's voice calling for him, as he raised his head. I opened my eyes into his crimson ones, both of us breathing raggedly. He placed a kiss against my forehead, before he walked away into the ballroom.

My heart pounding, I staggered backwards and collapsed against the wall.

What the hell just happened?

* * *

"Alicia?" a voice suddenly said, and I turned my head to find Edward Cullen looking down on me concernedly. "You alright?"

"I'm fine, Edward," I said, hoping my heart rate would settle soon enough. No need to broadcast the fact I had just been snogging one of my father's guards, even if Edward couldn't read my mind.

For a second, I saw a satisfied smirk on Edward's handsome face, and I narrowed my eyes at him.

"What?" I asked, crossing my arms defensively and pushing away from the wall. Not for the first time I wished I could read minds like Dad.

"Nothing, Alicia. I was just reflecting how lovely you look tonight," he said courteously. "I just saw Demetri out here."

"And?" I said, tilting my chin defiantly, narrowing my eyes. "What of it?"

"Nothing, but Demetri's thoughts were very…distracted when he came back in a moment ago," Edward said with a smirk. I crossed to the balcony and looked out over the crowds of people below us, still celebrating Uncle Marcus's festival.

"Don't tell my father," I breathed. I felt Edward join me at the balcony.

"Why? Your father wouldn't be opposed to you and Demetri, and neither does Bella. You shouldn't hide how you feel," he said softly.

"It's not me…its Demetri. I think he likes me, for some reason, but….."

"But?" Edward prompted me. I looked down at my hands.

"I don't know. I think he thinks he's too old, or because he's a guard member, we can't be together," I replied.

"That's silly. Age means nothing, especially when he's only twenty nine physically. His vampire age shouldn't matter," Edward told me impatiently. I looked at him speculatively.

"Was that how it was for you and Mum?" I asked bluntly. He tensed, but nodded shortly.

"Yes, it was. But more than that, it's wrong to deny what your heart is telling you. Its sheer agony at times, and it makes you do stupid things. Don't try to fight it," he warned me, in a voice almost too quiet for me to hear. I smiled slightly, and squeezed his arm.

"Thanks, Edward," I whispered, turning back to the view of Volterra, my city.


	30. Edward: Something Wicked This Way Comes

Italians Do It Better

* * *

_**By the pricking of my thumbs, **_

_**Something wicked this way comes.**_

**Macbeth, Act Four Scene 1**

* * *

**Edward**

Two weeks after the ball, I was striding down a corridor in Volterra when I felt Carlisle's mental voice call to me.

_Edward? We need you in the throne room. Come quickly._

I sighed heavily. Despite my promise to Bella, I still kept as far away from the three brothers as was possible. I didn't know if I could resist tearing Aro's head off, and he knew that perfectly well.

After the St. Marcus Day Ball, Aro had finally divulged the full information of why he had gathered us to him. Slowly other nomads had trickled in also, and it was clear we were the largest gathering of covens and nomads in centuries. The only ones missing were the Denalis, but they were expected today.

As I turned around and ran towards the throne room, I felt a wind rush up behind me, and the thoughts of my littlest sister merge with mine.

_This shield of Bella's is really starting to get annoying! I can't see a single thing of what Aro's going to say!_

I was just about to speak when she growled at me, and her thoughts shrieked in my head.

_Oh shut up! Don't give me that about surprises! I hate surprises!_

I chuckled as we slowed the closer we got to the hall. Gradually others joined us, and I was aware of Alicia gliding behind me, her brother beside her. As expected, Demetri was not far away.

Again I sighed. My plans to see Alicia's dreams of being with him had not worked so far. Demetri loved her, I was sure of it, but he was so damned rigid in his dedication to his duty, as he saw it.

I could feel Alice's amused eyes on my face, as the rays of sunlight sparkled off our skin.

_You can't talk brother dear!_

"No, I suppose I can't," I muttered quietly, as we swept through the doors into the throne hall.

* * *

Inside, the four Volturi rulers were sat on their thrones, their faces grim, surrounded by the guard. I glimpsed Carlisle standing beside Aro's chair, between him and Bella, and I couldn't help but shiver. The sight was one from a nightmare, wrong and unnatural.

Aro and Carlisle were two very different men, in both their thought processes and their morality. Polar opposites, so how they could be such good friends, I couldn't fathom.

Predictably, my eyes slid from the two immortals, to the source of the confusion and the anger in my heart. Bella.

Today she was clothed in a black suit not unlike her husband's, her long hair tumbling freely over her shoulders, her red eyes gleaming like the Volturi crest on her white breast.

How I missed her brown eyes and the flush of blood in her cheeks! I would never understand her now, how she could let a monster like Aro touch her, but I had to accept it.

Hopefully the Romanians would kill him off, and set her free.

* * *

But in my heart of hearts, I knew I didn't mean it. Aro was her mate; I understood the impossible love between them, because it had once been the same between me and Bella. If she lost him, her happiness would be lost, irretrievable. She would cease to be Bella.

Despite all, she had retained who she was. I had to give her that.

* * *

Over the past fortnight, reports had trickled in, confirming the rumours of the Romanians slaughtering any vampires they came across. Why was a mystery, but it was impossible to deny now. They had become a threat.

Felix and Santiago had been sent out as scouts, and the report they had brought back, and the memories of the slaughter they had seen was nightmare-inducing. I was glad I could not sleep sometimes.

Behind me, I felt Alicia and Charlie take their places behind their parents, both clothed very similarly in blue and black three piece suits. Predictably Alicia had added her own stamp to hers with a leather halterneck beneath the jacket.

She sent me a friendly smile before her expression blanked out, in a carefully neutral one.

"What are we waiting for, Aro?" Alice asked, her voice a clear bell in the cold, crisp hall. Aro's solemn red eyes bent on her golden ones. I wanted to roll my eyes at his thoughts, but didn't.

"All in good time, my dear Alice. We just have to wait for dear Tanya and Eleazar to arrive with their coven," Aro replied smoothly, and we all settled down to wait, albeit impatiently.

Finally we heard the approaching footsteps of the Denalis, as the doors swung inward, and our heads swivelled as one to set eyes on our last allies.

Aro and Bella stood from their thrones, momentarily diverting my attention. Bella's hair shifted as the light fell once more on that strange scar on her neck. I frowned distractedly.

I would have to ask her about that one day.

My eyes went to Tanya and Eleazar, Carmen, Kate and Irina trailing behind them along with another vampire I didn't recognise.

The Denali coven had grown.

"Welcome, Eleazar my old friend! Tanya, Kate, Irina, and Carmen I'm delighted to see you again!" Aro enthused as he stepped down from the dais. We all inclined our heads in greeting the coven, as they stopped in the midst of us. Tanya flicked me a curious glance, and then Aro was upon her, Bella at his side.

"Aro," Tanya inclined her head at the leaders of the Volturi, her eyes now fixed inquisitively at Bella. I could hear the confusion in her thoughts at the disappearance of Sulpicia. Aro caught the tenor of her thoughts, smiling widely like a shark.

"Tanya, Eleazar my friends, allow me to introduce my wife, Isabella," he gestured to the brunette beside him who smiled easily, flicking him a glance. Tanya glanced at me, a question in her eyes; one I couldn't answer before taking Bella's outstretched hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Bella," she murmured, as Eleazar and the rest of the coven inspected her with interest.

* * *

_What happened to Sulpicia?_

_Some vamps get all the luck!_

_Wait, wasn't she Edward's mate?_

_Her gift is interesting: a mental block and a mental shield, with a corporeal one as well! A powerful one._

_What is she, like a queen? Who are these people?_

* * *

That last came from the female vampire I didn't recognise, as her eyes skated over the couple in front of her. Aro noticed her with curiosity, as he glanced at Carmen and Eleazar standing protectively close to her.

"And who is your charming new addition to the coven, Eleazar my friend?" he asked cheerily, with a slight laugh.

_He sounds like he swallowed helium when he laughs! Weird!_

That thought made me want to laugh. I settled for a strangled snort, too quiet for anyone to hear as Aro extended his hand.

"Aro, this is Lucy. She's only recently joined our coven, and our way of life," Tanya explained. I studied the vampire speculatively.

She was as lovely as Bella or Alice, with long, wavy red hair like fire. Her eyes were a dull shade of butterscotch, indicating growing thirst. Her features were almost doll-like, her red lips puckered like an English Rose. She was slender, clothed in jeans and a green rollneck; and looked to be about twenty years old physically, her limbs somehow managing to covey a sense of softness, not dissimilar to Esme. She smiled, and white teeth flashed.

"Pleased to meet you," she said boldly, laying her hand in Aro's delicately, as if only deigning to give him her hand with haughty pride. Aro's smirk grew as Bella struggled to hide one of her own.

"Interesting. Born in the 1870s, in London, yes?" he asked, a confident gleam in his red eyes. Surprise broke through Lucy's haughty veneer, as she snatched her hand back.

"How do you know that?" she asked, her jaw almost dropping in awe and confusion. I snorted out loud this time, one Alice and several of the Volturi Guard echoed.

"Aro, don't frighten the poor girl," Bella scolded her husband gently, before placing a calming hand on Lucy's shoulder. "Aro can read every thought and memory you've ever had, with one touch,"

Lucy didn't look any more consoled by Bella's explanation, before she shot a glare over her shoulder at Tanya, Kate and Carmen. "Thanks for warning me!"

The growled sentence had me smirking even wider.

* * *

_Nice to see someone Mamma and Dad can't intimidate just by looking at them…_

* * *

That one came from Charlie, and my brow quirked at the thought. I turned my head an infinitesimal amount to find the young hybrid's grey eyes fixed on the red-head. Perhaps Lucy sensed his scrutiny, because her head rose and snapped to look him in the eye. They met, and broke away as Aro turned around and led Bella back to her throne.

"Why have we been gathered together, Aro?" Eleazar asked, stepping forward. Aro took his time, sitting down and rearranging his long limbs.

"Well, it is a long story, my friend, but a grave one. Felix, Santiago!" he barked, waving them forward. "Bring the Denalis up to speed."

Obediently, the two vampires told the Denalis how the remnants of the Romanian coven, long thought destroyed, had risen once more to threaten the Volturi. It had been discovered that they had been killing vampires, for no apparent reason, drawing closer and closer to Volterra. Five European covens had fallen to the Romanians, their bodies torn apart and burnt, their ashes mixed with the blood of uncountable innocent humans. Even the Volturi acknowledged that the situation and the slaughter were untenable.

"They have to be stopped," Aro said simply, at the end of Felix's report. The Denalis looked grim. "You see, my dear Denalis, why I have called you here. The Romanians will not merely stop with us, they will continue, flooding into America and the Pacific. They have shown no mercy, and now it's our turn."

"I will not stand by whilst those I love are threatened," Bella put in, her face blank and cold, yet her eyes burned. I almost shivered. This Bella was a warrior, a fighter through and through, ruthless and determined.

"Have we had any word from the Romanians?" Eleazar asked, frowningly.

"No, no word. And for that alone, we shall destroy them," Bella replied confidently. "They've crossed a line, and now we need all the covens and the nomads we can gather to fight this threat,"

"Yes," Aro agreed with his queen. "It's time to rise up and destroy this threat to the peace that has reigned in our world. Not only is our peace threatened but the very knowledge of our existence is on a knife-edge, teetering on the brink of becoming known to the humans."

"We cannot countenance this," Marcus spoke up in his whispery voice, coming out of his bored trance. Caius merely nodded, an eager smile on his thin lips.

The Denalis still looked unsure, as Bella stood gracefully and stopped in front of Eleazar, Carmen and Tanya.

"With or without your help we shall fight this threat. But, we need you. We need all the vampires, gifted or not, that we can muster if we are to be victorious. Help us," she asked, her voice gentle now, the warrior-like veneer disappeared. I felt the full force of her plea, and felt something rise within me. The need to fight for her, by her side, to follow her to the ends of the Earth.

* * *

_That's my Isabella.._

* * *

Aro's proud thoughts filtered into my brain, registering dimly, before Eleazar nodded once, his face grave and sober.

"We will help you," he said, his statement echoed by the rest of the Denalis. I glanced at Lucy but she was proudly watching Eleazar and Bella, however every so often I saw her eyes drift towards Charlie.

Interesting.

"Alright! Let's go get these suckers!" Emmet enthused, punching his fist in the air. Rosalie groaned, hiding her head in her hands, as Alice flicked a warning glance at Jasper.

"We will meet these Romanians on their own ground, draw them away from Italy and the rest of Europe. They'll be no match for us," Aro said, his voice echoing in the cavernous hall. Bella took her place at his side, her eyes fixed on me and my family.

"Bring it on," she murmured with a bloodthirsty grin. Aro's smile grew wider, as he took her hand, and gently pressed his lips to it.

"By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes," he recited, and I recognised the line from Macbeth. I had to agree, with the almost savage power I felt emanating from Bella and the rest of the Volturi. The Romanians had no chance.

I felt anticipation rise, as I knew myself to be a part of this whole, to be part of the power. I had always had reservations about the Volturi, but now I couldn't help but feel some reassurance that we were not facing this threat alone.

Looking at the faces of Alice, Rosalie, Emmet and Jasper, I saw my battle-ready expression mirrored. Carlisle and Esme were grave and silent. I knew they would not relish the coming bloodshed, but would do their part. The Denalis' thoughts were full of anticipation, cautions on some parts, enthusiasm on others.

The Volturi Guard, unsurprisingly, were looking forward to destroying this threat.

Focussing once more on Bella and Aro, I saw there the fell domination and the promise in their eyes, sending a shiver down my spine, raising the hairs on the back of my neck.

* * *

_Something wicked this way comes indeed…_

* * *

_**The End**_

* * *

_**The Last Disclaimer:**_ I do not own any of the characters or themes of Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse or Breaking Dawn, except for any original characters I have created. Nor do I own any of the songs or excerpts I have used in the beginning of each chapter. They belong to their respective owners.


	31. Author's Note: Sequel

For those looking for the sequel, here's an author's note just to inform you that due to some personal issues, I am not writing the sequel. I gave permission to VolturiQueen1993 to write it, and she has published the first chapters here on her profile, under the original title for the sequel: But American Ain't Bad Either.


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